What Goes Around
by thegreatTDCSI
Summary: Grissom returns from his sabbatical and finds the lab in shambles. A replacement is sent in while Catherine is on vacation, only the replacement and Sara share a past disrupting her relationship with Griss, when a bartender messes everything up. COMPELTE
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer-** No, we don't own CSI or anything to do with it. We do own the soon-to-be replacement and the hopes that, someday, Petersen will come knocking on our doors.

**A/N-** Big thanks to kakidoll for the beta. Also, thegreatbluespoon wrote nothing in this short intro. If you've read her stuff before, you'll be able to tell when she kicks in. This one is all TDCSI.

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What Goes Around...

Chapter 1

Grissom entered his home, set his bags down, and sighed. 'What a night.' he thought. He was glad to see Sara, but he got the feeling that she wasn't as excited to see him. Sure she was busy and stunk from her trash run, but she seemed to give him the cold shoulder.

Then there was the thing with Keppler. It wasn't the welcome home he was hoping for. He had found out through Hodges and Warrick that the lab went to hell in a handbag while he was gone. Warrick told him what Keppler and Catherine had done with their reverse forensics, and how Nick was having a hard time trusting her after she lied to them. Then, it turned out that Keppler knew what was going on in the case Catherine was working on, and he wound up dead.

As the paramedics pronounced him as deceased, Grissom escorted Catherine back to her place. She was upset and something inside told him that she needed a friend. Williams had indeed changed him. It was something that he wouldn't have done in the past. He sat in her kitchen drinking coffee with her as she told him all about Keppler. She was the only one who trusted the man. The other's had practically refused to trust him after the little stunt he pulled with her. Grissom had to admit that the fact that Catherine went along with the idea just didn't sit right with him. But, since there wasn't any real harm done, he decided to over look it.

He spent nearly three hours at Catherine's listening to her go on and on. He was physically and emotionally drained as he walked down the hall towards his bedroom. As he passed the bathroom, something drew his attention. Grissom entered and noticed that everything that Sara kept there was gone. He checked the closet finding that, in place of several of her outfits, there were only empty hangers.

Grissom sat back on the bed and ran a hand down his beard as he sighed. He had been away for four weeks, leaving Sara with nothing more than a simple 'I'll miss you'. In those four weeks he'd only managed to send her the cocoon. He wanted to send the letter he had written, but thought that it was something that should be presented in person. When, he didn't know, but it had to be a special occasion.

He thought about calling Sara and asking why she had removed her things while he was gone, but then decided that it was something that needed to be discussed in person. Grissom took a shower, trimmed his beard, and dressed in a royal blue polo shirt and khakis. He smiled at himself in the mirror as he splashed on a dab of cologne that Sara had given him.

Grissom stopped on the way to Sara's apartment and bought a bunch of flowers. He knew she was more into live plants, but he thought the colorful arrangement might be better.

As he paused before knocking, a slight doubt shivered through him. With a quick shake of his head it was gone, and he rapped on the door three times. Grissom stood nervously, as if it was his first time.

The door opened and Sara stood before him dressed in nothing but a robe, her hair still wet from showering. Grissom froze at her appearance. It had been way too long since he had last seen her.

"Are you going to just stand there and stare at me all night?" Sara inquired.

"I...um...got these for you." Grissom said, holding out the flowers.

"Thank you." Sara took them and walked back inside, leaving him standing in the door. "Are you going to come in?"

Grissom walked in, and shut the door behind him, and followed her into her kitchen. "How have you been?"

She looked up at him. "Fine."

"That's good."

Silence. God, the silence.

"I guess you've been home and noticed some things missing." She broke the ice.

"Yes. Sara, I'm sorry if my leaving was so hard on you. I thought about you every day."

Sara felt the heat of anger slowly rise up in her. She tried to fight it, but it was futile. "Look, I just figured you might call or write or something. But all I got was a stick with a cocoon."

Grissom let his head fall, as he looked at his shoes.

"I'm sorry Gil. It's just I thought we had something more between us."

"Sara..." He looked back up at her. "...we do have something. My leaving had nothing to do with you." Grissom moved around the counter to stand in front of her. "Everything at the lab was coming down on me and I needed an escape. I needed a release. To go somewhere where I couldn't be reached if 'the lab needed me'." He quoted himself as he stepped closer to her. "Being away from you these past weeks has made me realize how special you are, we are."

He continued to step closer to her, and she backed away until the counter stopped her.

"I never meant to hurt you. I just want to be with you, and I don't care who knows, because I love you Sara. I really do."

Grissom stepped in front of her and placed his hands on the counter, trapping her between them. He moved his left leg between hers and leaned into her thigh. Sara let her head fall back fully exposing her neck to him, and he took advantage of this exposure.

He snaked his tongue up her neck to her ear lobe. Sara released the moan she had been holding ever since she saw him standing at her door. She rolled her hips up to grind on his leg.

"Grisss." Sara hissed.

He whispered in her ear. "I need you."

"Then take me."

He backed away to see the passion burning in her eyes. Grissom scooped her into his arms and walked back to her bedroom. He set her down on the bed and opened her robe, fully exposing her body like a buffet just for him. He leaned over and sucked in a nipple, working his tongue around it, bringing it to a hardened peak. Then he attended to the other one.

Sara's hands ran over his hair, holding him to her. Her body involuntarily moved under his manipulations. Grissom kissed his way down to the patch of fur that lay at her junction. He inhaled her scent as he pushed open her legs. Her body was oozing with arousal.

Grissom let his tongue slide out and graze her folds. Sara's hips thrust up at his touch.

"Just lay back and enjoy." Grissom hissed.

He opened his mouth to take in all of her he could. Sara threw her head back against the bed. She had definitely missed the beard. Grissom slowly slid two fingers inside her and began to massage her G-spot. Sara was moaning uncontrollably and Grissom knew she was close. He flicked his tongue over her switch as his fingers worked.

"Ohhh...Godddd..." Sara began to cry out as he thrust his fingers in her more forcefully. "Grisssss...Ohhhhh." She cried out, as her hips bucked as she came hard.

Grissom continued to ride out her orgasm until she had calmed and settled back down on the bed. He withdrew his fingers, and kissed his way back up her body. Sara pulled him down into a kiss that was mixed with both her juice and their passion.

"Now. I need you now." Sara groaned, as she started pulling on his shirt.

Grissom quickly helped shed his clothes and Sara shrugged out of the robe. She fell back onto the bed pulling him down on top of her. He kissed her deeply as he positioned himself between her legs.

She broke the kiss as Grissom pushed himself into her, causing her to gasp for breath. He buried himself deep in her, remembering that feeling of hot tightness that drove him crazy.

"God, Sara." He breathed out, as he began to thrust into her.

Sara wrapped her legs around him. They set up a strenuous pace, as they made up for the last four weeks. Grissom's face was buried in the crook of her neck as he pushed into her, as deep as she could take him. Sara's hands dug into his shoulders, and pulled with every thrust.

Grissom began to let out several guttural moans as his stomach tightened, and Sara was spilling his name from her lips.

"Grisss...oh...God..." Sara cried out as she came once again.

Grissom felt her tighten around him as she had another orgasm, and with a deep groan and one final thrust, he released himself in her, filling her with his semen. A few small after thrusts and shudders later, and he collapsed on top of her, as she held him tightly.

Grissom attempted to pull himself up, afraid he was crushing her.

"No. I like it like this." Sara was amazed that she could even talk.

"I'm too heavy, and I'm afraid I'll fall asleep on top of you."

"Just don't leave me."

"Sara, I'll never leave you again." Grissom kissed her swollen lips. "I love you."

"I love you, too."

He rolled off and pulled her into his arms. They fell asleep, wrapped tight in each other's arms, silently vowing to never be apart again.

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A short, but sweet, intro. Yeah? 

We'd love your reviews!

thegreatTDCSI


	2. Chapter 2

Ok, here it is, the next installment for our story. Yeah, we got a few reviews, but we need more, MORE I tell ya! Reviews do the mind good. Thanks a million to **Kakidoll** for the awesome beta work. Sorry this is late, I know we promised Friday, but thegreatbluespoon has dropped off the face of the Earth for the moment. I hope she knows the world is round.

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Chapter 2

Grissom woke to an empty bed. For a moment he had to recall where he was. He was positive he was back in Vegas, and as he looked at the surroundings through his blurred vision, it all came back to him. That, and the fact that he was naked, was odd.

He struggled to a sitting position and found his clothes. After dressing, he went out into the main living area in search of Sara. She was nowhere to be seen.

Grissom knew he shouldn't be concerned. After all, this was her apartment, and she just wouldn't up and leave him after a night like that. So he scrawled a note on a scrap piece of paper, posted it on her refrigerator, and left.

He drove over to Catherine's house and knocked on the door. She opened it, and squinted in the daylight.

"What?" Her voice was hoarse.

Grissom could smell the alcohol steam from her breath.

"Are you drunk?"

"Duh."

He sighed, and pushed his way in.

"What the hell are you doing, Gil?"

"Getting you sober." He walked into the kitchen and started her coffee pot.

"Why? So I can get to work on time." She spat out sarcastically.

He looked at her. "No, because you need a vacation, and it's going to start now." Her eyes widened as he continued. "Look, I know you cared about Mike more than you care to admit, but it was obvious to me. And I was only back one day."

"So what if I did?"

"I'm not condemning you for being human. But did you...you know?"

"Gil, what the fuck kind of question is that. What right do you have, asking who I sleep with?"

His eyes shot up at her bluntness.

"That came out wrong."

"I hope so. Look Catherine, right now, seeing you like this, it reminds me of me, before I left. Teaching was a different release for me. It was something I needed. You need to get away for a while yourself. Take Lindsey and your mom somewhere where the three of you can relax and enjoy yourselves." He poured two cups of coffee and handed her one.

She accepted it and sat down. They remained silent until Grissom's phone rang. He checked the caller ID before he answered. Sara. It was a predicament. If he answered, Catherine would overhear, if he ignored the call, Sara would surely give him a piece of her mind.

What to do, what to do?

"Are you going to answer it?" Catherine asked.

He flipped open the phone. "Grissom." Hoping that if he answered it like if he was at work Sara would catch on. Thankfully, she did.

"Where are you?"

"I'm at Catherine's, forcing her to take a vacation."

"Oh, I was wondering where you went. Thanks for leaving the note. I was about to throw something out the window until I saw it."

He looked at Catherine before continuing. She had her eyes closed, inhaling the stream rising from her cup. "I thought it was appropriate, and I'm glad to see I was right."

"I'll let you go for now. I'm sure it's hard having a conversation with your 'secret lover' when the queen of gossip is sitting in front of you. Bye."

"Bye." He hung up and observed Catherine as she continued to inhale the steam.

"Who was that?" She asked, without opening her eyes.

He had to think quickly, who would call him in the middle of the day other than Catherine? "Jim."

"Un-huh." He was lying and she knew it, but wasn't going to push the subject.

"I'll fill out the paper work for your leave when I get to the lab tonight."

"How long do I get?"

"How long do you want?"

She looked up at him. "You were gone for four weeks."

"I'm sure you have as much vacation stored up as I do. It all depends on how long it's going to take to get your wits about you."

"Can I get back to you on that?"

He smiled. "Sure. Just let me know."

Grissom drank another cup of coffee before heading back to his townhouse. He hadn't even unpacked his things. When he got home all he could think about was Sara. After getting things settled in to where he was once again comfortable with his surroundings, he stopped to look around at his place. Other than the books and butterfly cases, it was empty. No life, no color, no Sara. It was another thing he added to his mental checklist of things to do.

That night at the lab he informed Ecklie of Catherine's leave and, being Ecklie, he demanded that since it was for some length of time, they get a temp until her return. Grissom protested to the best of his political ability, which was zero, but lost in the end. Conrad assured him that he would handle the replacement to ensure that Grissom didn't 'accidentally' forget about it.

It was not the start of his first official shift back that he had hoped for, but he took it.

But then again, you know what they always say. Perhaps it could only get better from there on out. The cases for the night didn't sound as though they were going to be too mind bending when Ecklie had given him the run down. Hooray for Vegas…

Dead clown stuffed into an ice machine at Circus-Circus, Merry Christmas to Greg.

Dead hooker with many random objects stuffed into many random orifices- Happy some kind of holiday to Nick.

Warrick's case was a little…odd. A man and his girlfriend were driving down the interstate when he lost control of the vehicle for some reason, hit a semi and died. The man sustained, what would have been very serious injuries, had he not been killed, to his 'private' area, and the woman was decapitated. Yes, very odd indeed.

As Grissom collected the assignment slips and headed off to the break room, he felt that bit of pride coming back to him. First, his clear mind was back from his break, then Sara was coming back to him and now, finally, he was back to being boss. It felt friggin' fantastic.

He was still getting 'welcome back, Grissom' and smiles from everyone and it made him feel like brand new. Of course getting laid damn good and well after four weeks of whacking off hadn't exactly hurt matters either.

When he finally stepped into the break room though, it was pretty damned obvious that _some_ people weren't quite aware of the fact that he would be the one in charge again that night.

The sight before him was positively horrendous.

There were probably four types of popcorn laying about, numerous partially eaten candy bars, empty soda cans, half-full soda cans, full soda cans, boxes and bags of sugar-coated something or others every damn place and who the hell knows what the fuck he had just stepped in. He'd place an even fifty on a bet that it wasn't in any system they had at the lab. And just what in the holy hell was that smell?!

Greg was draped across a chair in the corner, yelling at the television while throwing corn chips into the air and failing miserably at catching them in his mouth.

Nick was in the process of yelling at the television too, even louder than Greg was. He was playing a game of some sort against Warrick, by the sounds of it all. He yelled and jumped while jamming on a button, knocking over a can, but he didn't care, he left it tipped over until he was done with his assault on the controller.

Warrick was yelling too, but not at the television. He was yelling at Greg and Nick to both shut the hell up because, apparently, he was having his ass handed to him on that game against Nick.

All three men continued on, completely oblivious to their new company, as Grissom continued to survey the horrors of the room before him.

The mini fridge was completely wrecked. How lovely that they had replaced it with the one from _his_ office. The edging on the bookshelf by the back table looked like a damn beaver had been set loose on it and- what the hell?- was that, yes, that was indeed bubble gum holding it in place now. It would have been obvious to a blind man that a pane of glass had been replaced. He did not even want to know what in the world had happened to cause that.

Grissom noticed what very well could have been blood, yes blood, on the floor by the table. As he went to inspect it, he stepped on, what he assumed to be a Cheeto. The crunch gave his attendance in the room away to the three others.

"Hey Griss, what are you doing here?" Greg asked nervously, as he popped up from the chair. Chips fell from all over him, and he tried using his foot to scoot them under the coffee table and chair. "We didn't expect you in tonight."

Nick and Warrick slowly slid their sodas behind them and Nick turned the game off.

"Well, I'm here. What the hell did you people do in this room?"

"Uh…"

"Throw a kegger?" Grissom supplied.

"No, we just…"

"Forgot everything about what your mothers taught you?" he asked, as he moved to look at more things in the room.

"Greg's fault." Nick said simply, as he pointed at Greg and stepped behind Warrick.

"What?!" Greg shrieked. "No way Griss, not all of this was me."

"Greg, I don't care if this was all just you or the entire lab. This is ridiculous!" Grissom said as he held up a bra.

"Um, that would, that…um…I'll take that." Warrick said and took it from Grissom. "It was late…"

"I really don't want to know, Warrick." He said, putting up his hands to stop him. "You people used _gum_ to fix the bookshelf?"

"Ecklie would've been pissed if we used tape lifts or the lab's glue." Nick explained as he came out from behind Warrick. "You know he's a tight ass."

"What about _my_ fridge?"

"Sara's the one that took that!" Greg accused. "You go to _her _to take care of that."

"I will." The thought of a little punishment ran through his mind, until Grissom's eye caught sight of something new in the room. "What…the hell…is THAT?!" he yelled pointing to the far left corner of the room.

"Oh, that there is our new mascot." Nick said calmly.

"Yeah Griss. He's a total sweetheart."

"You can pet him you know, he doesn't bite."

"Why is he in here? Why is he even in the lab? Where did you get it?"

"From a case." Greg explained. "Some crazy lady had him. She was killed and the animal control people were going to put him down, but we all fell in love with him, so we adopted him, named him, and over there is where we've opted to keep him."

"No." was Grissom's response.

"No, what?"

"No, you aren't keeping it."

"Why not?!" Greg whined. "You have a bunch of bugs and animals and things."

"He's cool!" Nick chimed in.

"We cannot keep a ferret at the lab. He'll contaminate something."

"He's the best though! He even has the best name in the world."

"And that is?" Grissom asked.

"Jim Rod McKoonter Junior the Third." Warrick said proudly.

Grissom had no words to express…hell you couldn't even put a name on what he was trying to express. What was that saying Warrick had used again? 'Hell in a handbag.' Yeah, that pretty much covered it.

He just shook his head and continued. "Is that _blood_ over there?" he asked pointing to the floor by the large center table.

"Oh come on Grissom, we aren't that gross." Greg laughed.

"Yeah, its syrup. It just looks like blood because of the carpet color." Nick explained they had pancakes two days ago, and Greg had dropped his.

"Why didn't that get cleaned up?"

"Because Greg is lazy?" Warrick guessed.

"This is ridiculous. Warrick, why didn't you tell me the lab was like this yesterday?"

"Because the lab isn't like this. The lab is fine. It's the break room that's trashed."

"Trashed doesn't come close to describing this…this, I don't know. How has Ecklie not completely flipped out over this?"

"He has."

"More than once."

"And that's just today."

"All three of you have assignments. Get out of here now before I do something I'll regret."

"Where's Catherine?" Warrick asked.

All three men looked at Grissom with obvious concern on their faces. It was plain as day to anyone that Catherine cared about Keppler, more than any of the rest of them had.

"She's…busy right now. Here are your assignments. I don't want any complaining either." He said as he handed them all their slips of paper.

"Blow job." Warrick stated, after reading his slip.

"Excuse me?" Grissom asked.

"Blow job. You know, road head, the highway delight. That's why the man's business got cut off along with her head. Case solved. I'll go find something to do until another case comes in though." Warrick shrugged, and walked out of the room.

"Mine is obviously going to need more investigation than Warrick's did. See you later Griss." Nick said and headed out to work on his stuffed hooker.

Greg was grinning from ear to ear. "This is so cool. I get a clown-cicle." He followed Nick out of the room, after being told by Grissom that he was first in line for clean-up duty.

Grissom found a decently clean spot on the couch and sat down. 'Welcome home.' he thought as he sighed 'Welcome home.'

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Now that you've read it, just click on the little button, that's right the one that says review. Leave a comment, question, or anything, just as long as we get to hear about what everyone thinks of this caotic story so far.

thegreatTDCSI


	3. Chapter 3

Big thanks to Kakidoll for all of her awesome beta work. Stop harassing me about updating my story, you'll be luck if I do it twice a week, so chill out. Horses take up my entire free time and then some. And lets all send out a big GET WELL to thegreatbluespoon, she really was sick, like bad sick. But she's doing much better, but I think the flu fried her creative brain, so we'll all just have to be patient with her.

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Chapter 3

Grissom hauled _his _fridge back to his office and spent over an hour cleaning it out. Just as he was finishing, a familiar knock came at the door.

"Hey."

He turned to look at Sara with a scowl on his face. "You're going to pay for this, you know."

She smiled back and helped him put it back where it belonged. "I was just in the neighborhood and decided to stop in and say 'hi'. I didn't see you after I left."

"I wanted to get my things put away after I left Catherine's."

"How is she doing?"

"She was drunk when I got there, if that tells you anything?"

Sara smiled. "I knew she had a thing for Keppler. When she told us about why they kept the rest of us out of the loop on their 'reverse forensics', the other's gave their opinion, but I told her if I had something to say to her, I would do it in private."

Grissom looked over his shoulder at her as he pushed the mini fridge back into its original place. "You didn't say anything to her, did you?"

"No. I wanted to."

"Sara."

"I know, I know. But she really pissed us off. When's she going to be back?"

"Five weeks. Conrad has insisted on a temp while she's gone."

"Who are you going to get?"

Grissom smiled at her. "He's insisted that he will find someone, that I would 'forget'."

Sara laughed at him. "You would forget."

Grissom screwed up his face as she continued to laugh.

"I'll see you later." Sara said as she walked out, still giggling.

He continued about in his office, until he heard the boys returning with their evidence.

"Three of them!" Greg shouted with an odd amount of glee.

"No way. Three cannot fit in there." Nick laughed.

"Yes way. They did, that's why the call was only for one. No one noticed the others under the first."

"Three clowns in the ice machine…that's crazy, man."

"What about you, Nick? What about the hooker?" he asked excitedly.

"Why are you so excited about a dead hooker, Greg?"

"I heard, from one of the cops, that she had a curling iron shoved-"

Warrick cut him off, "Hey guys."

"Hey, Warrick. You ever catch a case?" Nick asked, as he tried to balance several bags of evidence.

"Who cares?" Greg cut in. "What about the hooker?"

Warrick turned to Nick. "Yeah, you got the stuffed chick. I think I heard something about a fishing pole-"

"Curling iron." Greg cut in.

"You're both wrong. It was a can of furniture polish." Nick said.

"Ew." Came from Warrick and Greg.

"What the hell would she do that for?"

"Her pimp, the one that denies having anything to do with her murder, says that its _probably_ because she hadn't gotten a customer in so long, she was getting dusty."

Greg cringed. "Eeewwww!"

"Oh, that's…that's just not right." Warrick said.

"Yeah, but that's only his theory. Like I said, he denies any involvement. So, War, did you ever get a case?"

"No, I didn't. This is a really slow night." He moaned, as Grissom made his way towards them.

"Hey, Griss."

"Don't the three of you have something to do?" he asked them.

"I have clowns to go process. Frozen clowns." Greg said, cheerily.

"I have _a lot_ of items to swab." Nick said, using his full hands to point at three cadets wheeling in bags full of items found in, or around, the hooker.

"I've…got nothing." Warrick said with a loud sigh.

Grissom smirked at the three men. "Greg, your clowns are frozen, so they can wait. Nick, Mia can swab all of that stuff. Warrick, you said it yourself, nothing to do. Break room _now_."

"Awwww!" Greg whined.

"Better not be getting rid of Jim Rod." Nick muttered under his breath as he passed Grissom on his way to the room.

"Can I just clean up what I did, or do I have to do the whole room?" Warrick asked.

"Are you _five_?" Grissom sighed.

"Whatever, man." Warrick said and went to join Nick and Greg.

Grissom wasn't too sure about whether or not he trusted the boys to clean the room. Even if they did 'clean' the room, it really might be best for him to supervise, to make sure things weren't just shoved under the couch and behind the bookshelf.

He did have to yell at Greg for such attempts, since Greg didn't know he was watching at first, but the boys caught on and started doing a decent job. Until Greg found _it_…

"Holy shit!" Greg yelled.

"What _is_ it?!"

"Whoa!"

"Don't touch it!" Grissom warned. "Get me gloves…or a…stick, or something."

"Grissom, man, don't touch it. It's not worth it. You might be old, but I'm sure you've got plenty of years left to live."

"Thanks, Nick. I appreciate the sentiment, but will you please get me some gloves or something?"

Nick went and retrieved Grissom's kit from his office and handed it to him. "What do you think it is?"

"It looks…" Grissom said, snapping on his gloves. "…like Utopia."

"What?"

"What's he talking about?" Greg asked Warrick.

"Hell if I know. Better not touch me with it, though…I'll break his hip."

"Warrick, I'm a foot from you. I can hear you." Grissom said. "This is a…really, _really_ moldy, half-eaten, grilled cheese sandwich." He sighed in disappointment as Greg and Warrick gladly pointed at Nick.

Nick looked offended. "Bull! I only ate grilled cheese in Grissom's offi-…um…never mind."

"Would you like to finish that sentence, Nick?" Grissom asked.

"You know what? I think I'm actually going to pass on that." He laughed nervously.

"You ate food in my office, while I was gone?"

"No." he lied.

"That's what you just admitted."

"No, that's what I _almost_ just admitted."

"Idiot." Warrick laughed.

"How did none of you get fired while I was gone? Seriously, if I were in charge, I would have fired you all. Did Sara or Catherine have anything to do with this mess…besides my fridge?"

"Um…well, Catherine totally broke the window."

"I don't think I want to know." Grissom said.

"Well, I'm going to tell you. It's not fair that we're the only ones in trouble. When she gets back, she can get in trouble too."

"Fine, Warrick. Go ahead and tattle on how Catherine broke the big, bad, window at the lab." Grissom sighed.

"She and Sara were in here, discussing how long it would take for Ecklie to go ballistic with you gone."

"Surprised he hasn't." Grissom interjected.

"Anyway, Ecklie came in and said something about strippers and jackrabbits. As soon as he left, a paperweight went right through that window." Warrick stated, pointing to the repaired pane of glass.

Grissom looked a bit confused. "What do jackrabbits have to do with strippers?"

"_Not_ a wise topic for conversation around Catherine, boss." Nick laughed. "That's all we're allowed to say."

"Sara stole your fridge, well, she said we could steal it anyways."

"You told me about that already."

"Oh, yeah. Hey, Nick. What was the thing Sara did? You know, the thing with…" Warrick moved his hands around, aimlessly. "With the other thing?"

"You mean that thing over…yeah, cause of Greg." Nick started moving his hands too.

Grissom had no idea what they were doing. What thing? "What are you talking about?"

"Sara stole your desk key." Greg said. "It helped on a case, but we were all wondering why she had it. We figured she must've stolen it…when I dared her to." He grinned.

"Yeah…whatever. Finish the room." With the wave of a hand, he sent them back to work. Letting the other's see that she had a key to his desk was probably not the best move in the world. Just one more thing for Grissom to discuss with her later, he decided as the three continued their work.

Four long, complaint filled hours later, and the room was finally done. Greg thought, that since they worked two hours over shift, that they would be getting overtime. Poor Greg was sadly mistaken, and boy, did Grissom hear about that. He was _really_ looking forward to getting out of the lab now.

As he was climbing into his Denali, Grissom dialed her number. He hadn't seen Sara since she left his office earlier in the shift. There was no answer at her apartment or on her cell. So he just drove back to his place.

A sly smile appeared on his face as he noticed Sara's car was parked in the drive. He pulled in behind it, blocking her in. Grissom was as silent as possible as he entered. As he quietly set his things down in the entry way he could hear her humming in the other room. It only took him a moment to devise a plan of attack. He crept around into the open and saw her busy in the kitchen, her back was to him. 'Perfect' he thought as he snuck up behind her.

With one fluid motion he wrapped his arm around her torso, pinning both of her arms against her body as he pulled her into him.

"Gil!?" She screeched.

His right hand found her thigh and was slowly making the trek north towards the pockets on her jeans.

"Where is it?" His voice was deep and lusty.

At the tone of his voice, her body reacted instantly knowing what was to come. "Where is what?"

"The key to my desk. The boys said you stole it, and I'm here to get it back."

"You gave it to me."

"Yes, I did. You know it wasn't very smart to reveal to them that you had it. Even if Greg thinks you stole it." His hand moved across her slowly, feeling around her pockets.

She released a slight sigh as his hand moved. "It was an emergency. I needed to keys to the evidence locker, and Cath had the only set."

He placed a gentle kiss on her neck as she laid her head back against his shoulder. "Do you think you should be punished for that, and for taking the fridge from my office?" Grissom moved his left hand down to caress her breast through her sweater.

Sara moaned and pressed her hips back into his. She felt the steel of his erection pressing back.

"I'll take that as a yes." He spun her around to face him, and before Sara knew it he had picked her up and she was across his strong shoulders.

"Put me down!"

Grissom carried her to the bedroom. "No. You're being punished. I'm the only one who gets to enjoy this."

After his slight sinister laugh, Sara became slightly worried and began to struggle, but he was too strong for her. Grissom did gently set her down-only to give a push and she fell back on the bed with a slight bounce. She went to move but Grissom had straddled her hips, holding her down.

"What are you going to do to me?" Her question was filled with both lust and a hint of fear.

"I'm not sure. I guess we'll just play it by ear." He took her wrists in his hands, pinning them over her head as he leaned over and suck in her ear lobe.

Sara's eyes closed and she moaned, feeling the heat rush to her core. Grissom placed both of her hands in one of his. He took his free hand and pushed up her sweater, exposing her breasts. Being multi-talented, Grissom used his teeth to pull down the black lacy bra that she was wearing, before sucking in the pert nipple. Sara's body bucked against him at the sensation.

"Grissss." she hissed.

After a moment he playfully raked his teeth over her peak, and for a moment Sara thought he was going to bite her as her body struggle to get free. She looked at him as he lifted his head to look at her.

"Not funny."

"I said this was going to be about my pleasure. The boys had to clean up that pig pen of a break room, and you get this." He smiled as he moved to the other side of her chest.

After he was satisfied with teasing her enough, he removed her clothing. He looked around the room before standing and heading to the closet. When he returned with a tie, Sara protested again.

"I hope you don't think you're going to tie me up with that."

"I'm not thinking, I know." He grabbed one hand as she moved away.

"NO!" It almost came out as a laugh. She had never seen this side of him before and part of it scared her, while the other part never though of Grissom as the bondage type.

She resisted only slightly, as she really did want to be tied up. The resistance came off as part of the situation. Grissom secured her hands to the headboard.

"Comfy?"

"No."

"Good." he smirked at her. He stripped down himself and lay next to her.

"Oh Sara, what am I going to do with you?"

She couldn't answer, the anticipation of what he was going to do was too strong. A quiver went down her body as he moved lower, raking his beard down her stomach to her thighs, and instinctively she spread the revealing her Utopia.

"Please." she hissed.

He grinned at her. "As tempting as it is right now, I'm going to make you wait for it."

"Aw." she pouted, and threw her head back against the pillow.

Grissom moved between her legs and hovered above her. "Since you want that so bad, I'm going to deny you of it. Instead, you'll get this."

And in one fluid motion he sheathed himself into her heat. Sara's breath was instantly taken away as she tried to form words. He slowly pulled back, only to ever so slowly re-enter her.

The slow but solid thrusts were driving Sara mad as her body craved more.

"More. I need more."

"I know you do. But this is satisfying enough for me."

She did everything she could to speed up the agonizingly slow thrusts. Grissom smiled into the crook of her neck as she tried to move with him. It was only when he had finally had enough, and needed the gratification of release, did he speed up.

"God...yessssss." Sara cried out, as she was finally getting what she wanted.

Grissom was thrusting as deep and fast as he possibly could, sending her to orgasm right before he came himself. He collapsed from the exhaustion of his efforts.

After a few minutes, when both of them could speak again, Grissom lifted his head to look at her.

"Have you learned a valuable lesson here?"

"Yes." she panted.

"And what's that?"

"I need to be punished more often." She smirked at him.

Grissom raised his eyebrows. "I wouldn't if I were you." He lifted himself to untie her and lay back down beside her. After a moment in his arms, Sara was asleep. Grissom pulled her tighter and whispered his greatest fear. "Please don't leave me."

* * *

Are we having fun yet??? FYI, thegreatbluespoon writes much, much faster when we get reivews. And she's bee working on the fifth chapter for like weeks now, so if you'll reivew, I'm sure I could get that chapter in my hands by oh, next week, if I'm lucky. So you go reivew and I'll be patient and wait.

thegreatTDCSI


	4. Chapter 4

Thanks to kakidoll for the beta work...I'm sure we drive her nuts. Oh, and I didn't fall off the face of the earth...that would take too much effort on my part. I thank those who gave me well wishes. Yes, that includes you, Trudy.

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Chapter 4

Surprisingly enough to Grissom, it only took Ecklie a couple of days to find a temporary replacement while Catherine was on her much needed vacation. He got word that the 'new guy' would be there starting that night. By looking at the time on his watch, he knew that the guys and Sara would be in the locker room. So, he headed that way to let them know where Catherine was, and about the temp. Of course, Sara already knew about it all, but he still had to play it like she was just as clueless as the rest.

"Hey guys." They all stopped talking, and looked at Grissom standing in the door. "I wanted to let you know that Catherine's taking a vacation. She'll be gone for five weeks."

"Five weeks?!" The guys chimed in, but Sara remained silent.

"Yes, and Conrad has insisted on having a temp come in and fill the hole. He's going to be here tonight, so I want you all to play nice."

"Well, just as long as he doesn't pull any of that crap that Keppler did." Nick said, still sore over the 'reverse forensics' deal.

"Not with me here, you can be sure of that. Now finish up, and I'll see you all in the break room for your assignments." Grissom let his gaze linger upon Sara a little longer than he had intended to, but after how they spent yesterday together, he couldn't help but look at her.

After Grissom walked out, Nick let his feelings out into the open. "Man, this blows. We don't need any help while Catherine's gone. I understood while Griss was gone, but come on."

"Yeah, I hear ya man. But, you know, Cath did need a break. When Keppler died, it really tore her up." Greg put in his two cents worth.

Warrick and Sara remained silent, and quickly finished to head to off and get that evening's cases.

Grissom walked into the newly cleaned break room. Only the ferret was still there. He decided to overlook it for now.

"Alright let's get-"

"Sorry I'm late. I was talking with Mister Ecklie."

Everyone went wide-eyed at the man that entered the break room. He stood about five foot nine, sandy brown hair, brown eyes, and was fairly well built.

"Doctor Grissom, I presume. I'm Charlie Cole." The man said, as he held out his hand to Grissom.

Grissom took Charlie's hand and shook it. "Grissom. Its just Grissom. Have a seat, we're just getting started." Grissom sat down as Charlie did.

Sara slumped in her seat, trying to hide behind Warrick. Nick noticed this and quickly realized that Sara knew the man that was to be joining them for the next five weeks.

"So, Charlie, what's your background in forensics?" Grissom asked.

"Well, I got into forensics at Harvard. This girl I was seeing at the time was always going to your lectures. She really had the hots for you, and eventually dumped me and moved back to Frisco."

All eyes fell on Sara as she felt her face flush. She prayed to God that the floor would open up and swallow her.

"Sara Sidle, is that you?" Charlie spoke with enough enthusiasm to choke a clown.

She sat up slightly. "Yeah Charlie, it's me."

Charlie looked from Sara, then Grissom, and back to Sara. "You still have the hots for him?" He asked, motioning towards Grissom with his head.

The rest of the guys sat up and simultaneously and cleared their throats. Charlie was taken aback for a moment.

"Sorry, is there something going on between you two?" He asked, as he motioned between Sara and Grissom.

"NO!" Sara quickly spat out. And she saw the hurt that appeared in Grissom's eyes, she was the only one who saw it.

Charlie smiled. "I guess I never figured you would have followed him clear to Las Vegas."

"Alright, now that we're all acquainted, lets get to work, shall we. Warrick, you can take the trick roll. Nick and Greg, you guys get a double homicide, Vartann says it was gang related, so keep your eyes peeled. Sara, you take Charlie, since you two already know each other." Grissom stood and walked out before he could hear Charlie's last smart-ass remark.

God that little weasel was going to test his temper, he could see it already.

Charlie followed Sara to the awaiting Denali before he opened his mouth again. She climbed in behind the wheel, and the moment the doors were secure, he let it fly.

"So, you and Dr. Grissom? I knew it, I knew it, I knew it!"

"Shut up, Charlie. You embarrassed the hell out of me in there."

"Oh come off it, Sara. I was just trying to get a rise out of you."

"Yeah, well how about next time, I raise my foot up your ass."

Charlie leaned back towards the door, throwing his hands up in a mock surrender. They sat in silence as she drove them down the strip. Sara knew it was only a matter of time before Charlie just had to talk.

"So, how is he?"

"Jesus, Charlie!"

"Well..." He said, half laughing.

Sara shook her head, "We're here. Please, shut up for now." She said and quickly hopped out of the driver's seat.

Grissom sat in the comforting darkness of his office, thinking about why he had sent Charlie with Sara. How long he had been sitting there was anybody's guess, but when he heard Sara's signature laugh echo down the hall from outside the door, he began to think about his one and only fear.

Sara looked at him as she walked by with Charlie. She gave him a quick smile, but didn't get anything in return. Her smile quickly disappeared when his only response was a cold stare.

"I think he's jealous of me."

"You?" She scoffed, but then quickly realized that Charlie was close to hitting the nail on the head. "Come on, let's get this stuff processed and I'll take you out for breakfast, a little 'welcome to Vegas'."

He placed a free arm around her shoulders. "Thank you, but only as long as I get a repercussion dinner date, and a tour of the town."

"You got it."

Grissom had moved from his desk to the door in time to overhear. He wasn't normally an eavesdropper, but something didn't sit well with him when it came to Charlie.

Charlie sat in the booth at the small diner as Sara tried to get a hold of Grissom to let him know where she was. Each time, she only got the recording.

"Still no answer?"

She shook her head. "No, I tried both the house and his cell."

Charlie squinted his eyes as he practically read her thoughts. "He's mad, isn't he?"

Sara sighed deeply. "I hope not."

The waitress brought their food. "Come on, let's eat, then you can take me to my little hole in the wall motel."

She gave him a half smile as she began to pour syrup over her pancakes.

After dropping Charlie off, she headed straight home. As she locked the door behind her, Sara turned to the answering machine hoping Grissom had called. The small zero stared at her painfully. So, she decided to take a shower and go to bed.

Grissom didn't emerge from his office at the end of shift. He just sat and watched his cell phone ring every five minutes. After he was sure she had given up on trying to reach him, he deleted the many voice mails that she left.

"That's a bad color on you, you know."

He looked up to Brass, who was cradling a bottle of scotch and holding two glasses.

"And what color would that be?" Grissom already knew what Brass was going to say, but he asked anyway.

"Green. I heard about the new guy." Brass shut the door and took a seat in front of Grissom's desk. "So, I hear he and Sara used to be an item."

Grissom could only purse his lips at him as he watched the detective open the bottle and pour the warm amber liquid into the two tumblers. Brass slid one across the desk and Grissom gratefully picked it up and, in one swallow, emptied the glass. Brass raised his eyebrows, slid the bottle over, and watched as Grissom poured.

"Slow down or you'll be sleeping here."

Grissom eyed him briefly and downed what he had just poured. "There's more here than at home." He stated simply.

Brass could only look on as Grissom began to drink himself into oblivion. He knew that something was bothering him, and that something was Charlie Cole and Sara Sidle. Brass had a few more drinks, then just watched Grissom drink. Once he noticed that when Grissom's head would turn, and it took several noticeable seconds for his eyes to follow, he knew he was at the point of no return.

"Come on Gil, you need to go home and get some rest, it's noon for Christ's sake." He grabbed the bottle and replaced the cap.

He ran down an off duty officer to escort Grissom home. And once there, Grissom just collapsed on the bed, fully clothed, and passed out.

Sara woke at her normal time, dressed, and decided to go have a visit with Grissom. When she arrived at his place, she noticed that his Denali was not parked in the driveway. She just shook it off and decided to go in anyway. Sara assumed he was already gone, so she placed her key into the lock but noticed the door was already unlocked. She slowly elbowed the door open and drew her service pistol.

"Griss...you here?"

She moved about the town house with extreme caution, but once she reached the bedroom door and glanced in, she quickly holstered her gun. Grissom was laying face down on the comforter, fully clothed. One leg and one arm were hanging off the side of the bed. Sara kneeled beside him. "Grissom." She shook him, but got only a moan in response. As she sniffed the air around him, she detected the faint smell of scotch wafting off of his breath. Sara sat back and observed him. "Charlie was right, you ARE jealous of him. You are so predictable. "

"Ughhhh." Was all he could respond.

Sara just shook her head as he slowly opened one blood shot eye to look at her. "Well, I'm going to work. You have fun being drunk off your ass. And maybe I'll see you tomorrow." She stood and left, but locked the door behind her.

Grissom didn't move or even make a noise as Sara left. He let his eye close again, as he felt the nausea flood his brain. If he tried to move, he knew he was going to puke, so he just went back to sleep.

'What a start to my night' Sara thought as she walked through the halls of the lab to the break room. Luckily for her, Charlie was the only one in there so far.

"So, how did he take our breakfast date?"

"HA!"

He watched as she roughly pulled a coffee cup from the cupboard. "I guess not so good."

"You could say that. I went over to his place before I came here, yeah, he's drunk off his ass, passed out on the bed, fully clothed. I'd say he took it pretty well, wouldn't you?" She finished sarcastically, as Warrick and Nick entered.

Charlie looked back into his newspaper, as Sara took a sip of the hot, soothing liquid. Both Warrick and Nick observed her agitated state and thought it was because of Charlie. Greg entered a few minutes later and they all sat waiting for Grissom.

Sara knew he wasn't going to show, but she didn't want anyone to know that she had been over to his place earlier. She silently thanked Charlie as he kept his mouth shut voluntarily, for the first time in as long as she had known him.

"Well, it's getting late. I'll go see if he's here yet." Warrick spoke up, and headed off to Grissom's office.

Sara looked at Charlie, and he looked back at her and grinned. This wasn't sitting well with Nick.

"So, Charlie, where are you from originally?"

"I was raised in North Carolina. And after Harvard, I went to work at the crime lab back in Raleigh, until I came here."

"Why did you come here?" Nick asked harshly.

"Nick!" Sara interrupted.

"It's okay, Sara. I just decided that a change of scenery would be good. I had no idea Sara was here."

Warrick walked back in. "He's not here, so I guess I'll hand these out. Or you guys can take your pick. There's only four."

Sara doubled up with Charlie again. One thing he was good at, other than talking all the time, was listening. And man did she have some venting to do.

"Why did you just have to pick the one case where we'd be driving for an hour there and an hour back?" he asked with a fake sigh.

"Cause I'm a bitch, Charlie. You know that." she smiled a bit.

"Too well."

"Better than anyone else, I'd say."

"Really, Sara? Better than your 'man candy' even?" he smirked.

Her head snapped around to look at him. "What?!"

"That's what you used to call him, right? 'God that professor is _such_ a piece of man candy!'" he said in a high-pitched voice. "That's all we ever heard out of you. Well, that and how nice his ass looked in whatever pants he'd chosen to wear that day."

"Oh, god." she groaned. "I'd forgotten all about that. Just drive, please."

"Why aren't you? I'm going just to get us lost you know."

"Because you're going to be here for five weeks and I sure as shit am not going to be your chauffeur. You need to learn your way around." Sara laughed.

"Ah, I see."

"So...you going to tell me how you really ended up here, Charlie?" she asked.

"What do you mean?" he asked innocently.

"I'm not buying the shit you're feeding everyone else. It's completely bogus that you didn't know I was here. I've lived here for years. Did you request to be put here because of me?"

"I _may_ have made a call or...four."

"Charlie!"

"Last time we talked, you sounded like you needed a friend. I hadn't seen you in forever, I needed a job, and Vegas had one."

"I didn't really need a friend before, I've got plenty here. Now that you've gotten here though, its nice to have someone else."

"To bitch to?" he guessed.

"Please?" she asked.

"You know I'm all ears for you, Sara. Come on, go ahead and spill about your man candy."

After Sara gave Charlie a hard punch to the arm, she began to do just that.

"He wallows in his own self pity and nearly drowns in it, all while I'm trying to defend myself to him the whole time."

"Your point being?" Charlie laughed.

Sara didn't.

"Sorry. Continue."

"When was the last time you and I talked?"

He thought about it for a second. "Few months ago, I'd say. But we only talked for ten minutes or so, because of that whole 'Hodges is being such a teenage girl and listening to my phone calls again' thing. So, the last time we _really_ talked was a few years ago."

"God, Hodges is _such _a bitch. Anyways, back when we actually got to talk, he still hadn't decided that I was an okay risk."

"Yeah, the last time we talked it was you, a bottle of something you weren't supposed to have, and an issue about a whacked out, murderous doctor."

Sara rolled her eyes. "This trip is _so_ not even long enough to get into that."

"That's- oh shit, do I turn here?!"

"NO! Go straight! I don't want to end up in another state."

"Sorry, got caught up in the conversation."

"Dumbass." Sara laughed.

"You really haven't changed." Charlie laughed too.

"What?"

"Always telling it how it is."

"Oh. Well, why go through life hiding how you feel. If I don't like someone then I'll tell them. If they are pissing me off, I'll tell them. If-"

"I get it." Charlie cut in, laughing.

"Sorry." she smiled wide.

"There it is, finally."

"What?"

"The smile that got me forever ago."

She blushed a bit. "Oh, shut up. I'm supposed to be bitching. Remember? Stop flirting with me and drive."

"Only because you said to, sweet cheeks." he smirked.

She rolled her eyes and continued.

"Don't know why I deal with it."

"You love him?"

"Yes…even though he's a total dick at times."

Grissom slowly rolled over to glance at the clock. His body screamed at him for sleeping in that position for the past, lets see, it's midnight and he doesn't remember anything that happened before that. As he attempted to push his body up from the bed, his head drummed out a deep bass beat. After several minutes, he finally managed to stand, and make his way to the bathroom. Grissom glanced in the mirror and looked at his pathetic form.

"You're an ass, Gil." he spoke to his reflection.

After a shower and a pot of coffee, he made his way into the lab; he was only four hours late. His eyes showed the tell tale signs of a major hangover. After hearing that his team had already gone out for the night, Grissom leaned back on the couch in his office and fell back asleep, to dreams of Sara beneath Charlie. He rolled his head from side to side, trying to escape, as her elaborate moans of pleasure filled his ears. It seemed as though they knew he was watching them, and Sara would glance at him as she received Charlie's thrusts. For some odd reason, he couldn't turn away from the sight, or say anything in protest. Grissom was suspended in time.

"Grissom..." Sara called out, as her orgasm was eminent. "Grissom...Grissom." She screamed.

Suddenly he awoke with a startled look, sitting up instantly. Judy screeched as she jumped back away from him.

"I'm sorry, Judy," he said, after realizing who she was.

After she caught her breath, she handed him a note. "This was called in by Miss Sidle and Mister Cole." She passed off the note, and exited in a very brisk manner.

Grissom opened the folded note and read:

_Grissom, _

_A freak storm has us stuck in the valley. We are alright but the body was washed away before we knew what was happening. Charlie and I are holed up in a motel for the remainder of the night as it continues to downpour._

_Sara_

He slowly crumpled the piece of paper into a firm ball and tossed it into the trashcan.

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Holy drama, people. 

We appreciate the reviews we've gotten and would love to get tons more!

thegreatTDCSI


	5. Chapter 5

Ok, so like I didn't want to post this until we had a hold on chapter 6. It took Jess a week to write like 4 pages, I wrote 6 in a matter of hours. But now we have a handle on things, I think. Thanks to our on the fence beta,Kakidoll, she loves me more. And just be aware that if things go the way the rumors are predicting, it's going to be a long summer, and only God can help you from the shit Jess and I are going to crank out.

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Chapter 5

"_Natural Light_?" Sara groaned as she took the beer from Charlie. "Who the hell drinks this crap?"

"People that want to get drunk and have a _serious_ lack of options." He smiled.

"That bad?"

"Sara, we're at a fifty dollar a night motel…there aren't going to be any fine breweries around."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah…where's the food?"

"Ha…one good thing about the shit-box-hole-in-the-earth that you volunteered us to drive to is that they have a Pizza Hut. That means delivery. They should be here any minute now."

"Awesome." She smiled and cracked open a beer.

"Should I be letting you drink, Sara?"

"Should I be letting you breathe, Charlie?"

"Point taken. The lab get our message?"

"Judy did, yes."

Charlie was about to ask about Grissom, but no time. Pizza was at the door, and they were starved. Nearly being drowned after trying to save a crime scene could really make you hungry.

Charlie paid the deliveryman and brought the extra large pizza over and set it on the bed he and Sara had set up camp on.

"Thank god, I'm starved." Sara said, and hungrily tore into the pizza.

Charlie wasted no time in following suit. One more thing he remembered damn well about Sara was that she may be thin, but she'll eat the hell out of some food. She'd actually threatened him one time over the last chicken wing…she'd gotten the last chicken wing.

"This beer is nasty. When we get back, Charlie, the team and I are _so_ dragging your ass out to Good Times with us." She smirked.

"Good Times? A bar? Your friends let you drink after that whole DUI thing?" Charlie was shocked.

"They…they don't know about any of that, and I don't really drink with them. I'm always the driver."

"So this bar is, like, the, um official hangout for CSIs? Must be kinda lame." He joked.

"Greg, remember the kind of skinny guy? Anyway, you get enough…uh, shots in him, and he could make bingo night with your grandma look like Spring Break."

Charlie just raised an interested eyebrow as he took another beer.

All the way through the pizza, and halfway through the beer, Charlie decided that he wanted to hear more about this Grissom fellow.

"So, is he mean to you?"

"Noooo." She drunkenly drawled out. "He's just gots a bug up his ass."

Charlie, equally intoxicated, replied "Ewww."

"Whatever. He is a really…a really…um, sweet guy, when he wants to be."

"I kinda doubt that, Sara. He doesn't looks like the kind of guy that could really swoon you. Ofs course, lets not forgot the last times we talked, too."

"He's changed. Hell, I'ves changed. Its all fored the better though."

"Really?"

"You should've seen this thing he sent me whiled he was gone."

"That whole sabba…sabba…vacation thing?"

Sara took a big chug of the nasty beer. "Who told you about that?"

"Office chatter." He shrugged and matched her chug.

"You've been here for, likes, two days."

"You know just as well as I do thats, around a office, peoples know your business before you do…which is hows come I'm surprised not no one knows about you two."

"We're justs as surprised. Anyways, he sents me a cocoon. It was, like, the sweetest thing he's ever done." She smiled a giddy, drunken smile.

"A cocoon?" Charlie asked unbelievingly. "What the fuck? How ins the hell is that sweet? I boughted you four, um… dozen roses and chocolates for Valentines Day, and I even… um, made you dinners and I didn't evens get laid!"

"You'd have to knows our history together, Charlie." She said, finishing off her last beer.

"No one's bothered trying to reach us out here. We've gots all night, and I'm all ears agains."

Sara smiled and began telling Charlie all about the saga that was her and Grissom's lives.

Almost two hours later and Sara was still talking, every now and again being interrupted by a 'What a fucking idiot' or a 'I'd would've killed him' from Charlie.

"So thens one of our guys almost died and-"

"What?! Who?" He interrupted.

"You didn't hear about it?" at the shake of his head, she continued. "Nick, the Texan guy that was a kinda rude to you before. He got…" she paused for a burp, "…kidnapped and almost died. After that whole thing, he, um, Grissom stopped being total prick and went into a 'lets stop here to eat after every case, but I'm not going to tell you if its a date or not. I'm going to make you lose sleeps over wondering about my intentions, and then I'm going to kisses you on the cheek one of those times and then freak out and not talk to you for two days' phase."

"That's a big phase," he laughed.

"Hell yeah, it is! And it was freaking me the fucks out. He's nice to me when he first meets me. Invites me to work with him, then offers me a full-time job. He's nice to me at first, but thens acts funny around me, until, one day, he's just treatings me like crap. Then that wholes deal with Nick goes down and we're goings to lunches on the way back from scenes, and one day he gives me a kiss. Huh, talk about a heart attack."

"But, thens he didn't talk to you for two days?"

"He said I 'scared him'."

"_You _scared_ him_?"

"That's what I said!"

"But, knowings you, you didn't stand for that." he grinned.

"Hells no. I asked him what his big freakings issue was and he said he let things go too far, and then he started quoting dead peoples and stammering. He tried explaining things to me, and I...sort of understood them. We tried being likes we were when I first got to Vegas, just good friends, but then our friend Brass got shot."

"The cop guy?"

"Yeah. Grissom decided something about life being too short or whatever. I haven't exactly stopped to ask him." she smirked.

"So what's his problem now?"

"Jealousy. He's always thinking that I'm going to up and leave him for the first younger guy that shows interest in me."

"You moved to another state for the guy, giving up all your friends and everything you had, and he thinks you would just get over him that easily?"

"Apparently I'm just that fickle, yes. I've never dones anything that's shown that to be true, but he's got the idea dead set in his mind."

"He's an idiot!" Charlie laughed.

"The best example of an oxy-moron ever."

"The dumbest smarts person." Charlie laughed a bit harder.

"He's has nothing to be jealous abouts." She said.

"When it comes to me, you mean?"

"When it comes to any man in general, Charlie. Christ, didn't you see the men walking around the lab? We're not exactly lacking in the Good Looks Department."

"Or the Fine Ass Department."

"Would Frank like you talking likes that?" she raised a curious eyebrow. "It _is_ still Frank, right?"

"I'm not a whore, Sara," he laughed. "Of course its still Frank. I think. He wasn't exactly thrilled about me leaving for five weeks. I really didn't gives him too much notice."

"Giving notice is exactly what Grissom's problem was. He didn't really give me any. He dropped a, um, bomb and then hopped a plane expecting everything to be fines. Calls him, Charlie. Tells him…you're a dumbass for one thing, and for another thing, he's all you're thinkings about. Then tell him I said 'hi'."

Charlie laughed. "I can't believes Grissom is jealous of a gay man."

"I still find it funny that you're gay."

"Because of what happened between us?" he asked.

"Duh."

"You still think you turned me gay, don't you, Sara?" he laughed.

"It is a bit funny that your first 'guy friend' was right after we broke up."

"Sara, if anything, you'd turn a gay man straight, not the other way around."

"Well, someone better tell Grissom that." she sighed.

"Want me to kick his ass?"

Sara started laughing so hard at the mental picture she created of Charlie beating up Grissom, that her drunken ass fell off of the bed.

Charlie helped her up and back onto the bed. A couple more hours of Grissom rant later, and they passed out.

The wake-up call, that Sara was shocked the shit-hole even offered, came and she had to nearly bludgeon Charlie to get him to wake his hung-over ass up.

As he rolled over, he flung his arm to fight off Sara's awakening, accidentally knocking into the tacky table…causing the even tackier lamp to fall off and break.

"Oh, what the hell, Charlie!"

"Duct tape." He mumbled.

"What?"

"Gotta love duct tape." He smiled.

"Why's that?" she asked, picking up lamp pieces.

"Well, duct tape is like 'The Force'."

Sara just stared at him.

"There's a light side and a dark side, and it holds the universe together." He said with a shrug.

She laughed, "Are you still drunk?"

"No…just…I don't know. What's for breakfast?"

"My foot in your ass if you don't get out of bed so we can get on the road. We've got to get to work."

"Gag." He said as he made his way to the bathroom.

Charlie might not be your stereotypical gay…but good freaking Lord that man takes forever in the damn bathroom! Just over fifty minutes later, and he finally emerged.

"I'm ready." He said.

"About damn time! I thought you'd fallen in or something. Honestly, I was about to call the Coastguard."

"Bite me. Facial cleanser takes a while, you know." He threw his towel at her.

"I bet you use all of the hot water at your hotel."

"Hey…about that whole deal."

"Why do I have a strange feeling that you're about to ask me for a favor, Charlie?'

"Probably because I'm about to ask you for a favor."

"Go for it." She sighed.

"My hotel smells like cheese. I hate it and it's expensive as all hell."

"Its Las Vegas." She said simply. "You can't tell me that you honestly expected something better than that, Charlie."

"Yeah, well…I was just wondering-"

She cut him off with a knowing smile. "If you could stay at my place for the five weeks you're here?"

"Since you're offering, Sara, I'd be more than happy to." He smiled back as they made their way outside.

Twenty minutes after being on the road, Sara started laughing.

"What? Why are you laughing?" Charlie asked.

"The last time we were staying together was when Frank was the freaking neighbor. I used to get mad because he was at the apartment so much. I know the reason for that now." She laughed.

"We'll have a ton of fun, you know." He smiled.

"No major parties this time, Charlie. We've got jobs now, and we can't afford to just get straight up trashed at a moments notice…regardless of how much fun it used to be."

"Remember that party with the seven illegal immigrants, the piñata, bootleg cds and the strippers?! Oh wow, that was so great." Charlie laughed.

Sara laughed too, "but those damn cops showed up and ruined it."

"Those tickets were expensive…indecent exposure. What kind of crap is that?"

"I still think you should have fought that, Charlie."

"Nah, its cool. Shit happens when you party naked." He said with a shrug.

"That's damn true. Hell, remember the ficus?"

Charlie and Sara shuddered at the memory.

The rest of the trip was filled with more stories of Sara and Grissom, and, when those pissed her off, more stories of drunken idiocy via Charlie.

They pulled into the lab parking lot a couple hours after leaving the hotel and were met there by a very pissed looking Grissom.

He stood and watched as Charlie maneuvered the vehicle into a parking spot and killed the engine. Charlie and Sara hesitated for a moment as Grissom's laser eyes bored through the windshield at them. His satchel was clutched in his white knuckled hand. Sara knew he was beyond pissed.

Charlie spoke without turning to face Sara, "I don't think now would be a good time to let him know I'm planning on rooming with you."

"No shit." She continued to watch Grissom and saw his expression change as Charlie finished. The back of her hand made contact with his right shoulder.

"Ow!"

"You ass, Grissom can read lips you know."

"No, I don't." He continued to rub the place where she had struck him.

She took a deep breath and opened the door. "Hey."

Charlie remained inside. He felt comforted being surrounded by the glass and metal.

Grissom just glared at her.

"We couldn't save the scene. I see you're feeling better."

He narrowed his eyes at her. "I'm fine." His teeth squeaked as they ground together.

"Good."

The anger radiated off of him as he cleared his throat. "So...Charlie's going to 'room' with you?"

"We just didn't see the reason for him to be staying at a dirt-hole motel when I have an extra bedroom."

"Are you sleeping with him?"

"WHAT!?"

"Are you sleeping with him, Sara?"

"Oh my God." she said between giggles.

"I don't see what's funny about this." His anger faded slightly, and the hurt he was feeling surfaced slightly.

Sara calmed herself. "Griss, I don't know what to say."

"That's alright. I've got my answer." He turned and started to walk away.

"Hey." She called out, and ran to catch up to his big determined strides. "I didn't sleep with Charlie."

Grissom stopped suddenly and turned to face her. The anger was back, only in full force. "Well, how the hell am I supposed to know? You seem to have this connection, then miraculously get stranded in some podunk town, he's going to be living with you, and when I ask you if you're sleeping with him, you just laugh and refuse to give me a straight answer. What the fuck do you expect me to think, Sara?"

Now she was pissed. "Here's not the place to be picking a fight."

"I'm not picking a fight. I'm just stating the facts with my voice elevated."

"You know what, one of these days you're going to wish you hadn't analyzed this all scientific-like when you find out the truth." She turned and headed back towards Charlie.

All Grissom could do was watch her walk with his mouth agape, once again trying to analyze what she had just said, and the true meaning behind it.

* * *

Ok, sorry if you can't read drunk. Hell I had a hard time and I was drunk. So, go ahead and review, why because I said so, and what I say goes, got it. Good. I wish Jess could get it.

thegreatTDCSI


	6. Chapter 6

OK, this is totally my fault for not getting this up earlier. Thespoon told me to post it, and damn if life didn't get in the way. Thanks Kakidoll for all you do, mainly keeping us in line.

* * *

Chapter 6

The next night rolled around very quickly, and so did the line of storms that threatened to pummel Vegas. Grissom kept his distance from Sara, thinking he might say something stupid. And he kept his distance from Charlie, afraid that he might kill him.

The rain began to fall just around the start of shift, triggering all kinds of flash flood warnings. So far, the rain kept everyone inside, including the criminals. Everyone was stuck with catching up on paper work in the break room. Except Grissom, he had an office.

"So, when are we going to get a chance to see what this town has to offer a guy like me?" Charlie spoke up, breaking the brief silence.

Nick glanced up briefly to look at both he and Sara. Warrick never lifted his head, and Greg was too involved with the music blaring from his i-pod to hear.

Sara cleared her throat. "Like I know where places like that are. Besides, Grissom would _never_ let us have the night off together."

"What about tonight? With all of the rain, maybe we can sneak out early."

Sara risked a glace at Nick, who looked up once again. She smiled and he narrowed his eyes at her, showing his disapproval. "We'll see."

One by one, the lights were flickering in the lab, and within minutes they were off completely. They all sat in the semi-darkness, luckily the floodlights were working, but they still provided inadequate light.

"Alright." Grissom walked in, "Looks like this is going to be a short night for everyone. So, if you want to go, go. If you would rather stay and push paper, stay. I'm leaving it up to you guys."

Nothing but the sound of everyone rising at once was heard. Grissom could hear Charlie whisper something to Sara as they walked out together. He began to follow and called after her. "Hey, Sara. Can I see you in my office for a moment?" He kept his tone professional.

"Ah...sure." She turned back to Charlie, "I'll be right back."

Charlie nodded and headed to the locker room. Sara followed Grissom into his office and watched him close the door.

The urge to just blurt 'what' was strong, but Sara managed to hold her tongue and let Grissom start whatever it is he wanted.

"Sara...I..."

She leaned back on his desk, putting her hands behind her. In doing this, her small jacket opened exposing her beige tank top. The temperature was just right, causing her nipples to stand erect. She knew this would drive him crazy, but he was driving her crazy.

"Ahh..." Grissom paused.

'Success' Sara thought. "What, Griss?"

"Ahh...nothing. Are you going home?"

"Well, Charlie wanted to see some of the sights at night."

"The roads will be nearly flooded."

"I know. He wants to go clubbing."

"Clubbing?"

"Yeah. Go from one club or bar to the next."

"Sara." Grissom took a step towards her. "I thought we had this drinking thing under control?"

"We do. I just did that because I was depressed." She straightened up and walked past him, pausing briefly to give him, yet again, the final word. "I'm not depressed anymore, but I figured that, since I'm on the rocks with my boyfriend, I might need a friend to lean on for support."

Just as he turned to face her, she was half way out the door, and all he could do was watch her go.

-------

"Are you freaking serious?" she mumbled as she pounded on her bathroom door for the third time in an hour. "Charlie!"

"What?!"

"Get your queer ass out here already!"

"I'm not ready!"

"Well, I am and have been for a long ass time. You've got two seconds to get the hell out here before I go change out of this skanky outfit you made me put on. Now lets go!"

At that, Charlie swung the door open. A big cloud of steam hit Sara as he pushed past her.

"Whineass." He muttered. "You look good."

"Kiss my whineass, Charlie. It's raining like crazy out there and I'd rather not drown before I get to this club of yours."

"You never complained this much when we were together, you know. Doctor Grissom's gone and turned you into a Grade-A Bitch Box."

It took half a second, at the mention of Grissom, for Sara to get to Charlie on the other side of the room. "Mention that name again, Charlie, and see what happens to you." She warned, every other word emphasized with a poke to his chest.

"Easy, killer. It was just a joke."

"We're supposed to be going out and having fun tonight. In no way is that name associated with fun right now."

Charlie rolled his eyes. "You need to get laid, and that's one of my missions tonight."

"God, I hate you."

"Nah, you love me and you know it." He smiled.

"Go!" she yelled and shoved him towards the door.

About 45 minutes later, Sara and Charlie stood in line to get into The Tool Box - one of the biggest gay clubs in Vegas.

Sara leaned into Charlie and whispered, "I look like a whore!"

"No, you look...desperate."

"What the..." Sara spun and laid a fist into his shoulder.

"Ow, it was a joke, lighten up."

Sara smoothed out the burgundy tank top, and let her hands run down over the smooth black leather pants.

"I can't believe you talked me into wearing this. It's been like ages. I can't believe I even still have them, let alone still fit." She turned her head, trying to see her butt over her shoulder.

He rolled his eyes at her again. "You look hot, Sara. If Gri- if any guy at the lab were to see you right now, he'd fall flat on his face."

"From laughing at me!"

"From drooling over you. Deal with it."

"Fine." She huffed. "I can't believe I'm at a gay club."

"Hey, you offered."

"Yeah, well…"

"Yeah, well what?"

"Nothing, Charlie. Shut up and go, the line is moving." She pushed him.

After another half an hour, they were finally in the door of the club.

"Holy homophobia…" Sara muttered, looking around as Charlie drug her through the club and to the bar.

"Oh, come on, Sara. Its not _that_ gay." Charlie laughed.

"Yeah, but, Charlie…this is…wow."

"What?"

"Well, I've never been to a club with techno this loud, seven disco balls, male strippers in every corner…well, that one time yes, but they weren't doing what these guys are. I mean, leather loin clothes? And, you know what? That whole penis shaped neon sign over the front doors pretty much screams 'gay club' to me, Charlie."

"Alright, so next time you can choose where we go."

"Gee, thanks." She laughed.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I've already seen about five people I'd like to take back to your place."

Sara snorted, "So much for _me_ being the whore."

"What about you?" he asked, somewhat serious.

"Excuse me?!"

"I told you that one of my goals tonight was to get you laid. Lord knows you need it."

"Ew, Charlie."

"Whatever, your loss. I'm off to get phone numbers." He grinned.

"What? What the hell happened to Frank?"

"Sara, I've got five weeks in Las Vegas- a town where, what happens here, stays here- and a boyfriend that probably hates me…yeah, I'm off to get numbers." He smiled and took off.

Sara sat down at the bar and ordered a 'sex on the beach.' Most likely the only sex she'd be getting for a while, with the way Grissom's ignorant ass was acting.

After a few minutes, she noticed the bartender staring at her. She smiled nervously at him when he began walking towards her. '_Great. Just what I need right now…to get hassled by some weirdo._'

"Hi." He said simply as he leaned a bit across the bar so she could hear over the music.

"Uh, hi."

"My name's Grant." He said, pointing to his nametag with one hand, and extending the other towards her. "What's yours?"

"Sara." She answered as loudly but cautiously, as she shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you." He smiled.

"Yeah." She said slowly.

"Mind if I ask you just why you're in a gay bar?"

Sara looked around and found Charlie, who seemed to be doing pretty well with his own mission, and pointed him out. "That guy over there. I'm here with him."

"Ah. Friend of yours, I take it?"

Sara smiled as she was starting to feel a bit more comfortable with Grant. "Yeah. He's on a couple of missions tonight."

"Really? And what would those be?"

"To get numbers for himself and to get me laid." She laughed.

"Well, I'd give him my number, but it'd be pointless."

"Why's that?" she asked.

"I'm straight." He winked at her and moved to take care of another customer.

Just as Sara's jaw dropped a little, Charlie made his way through the crowd towards her.

"I got nine!" he smiled, then noticing the look on her face, his smile left. "Who the hell pissed in your cornflakes?"

"I just got hit on in a gay bar." She said conspiratorially.

"And why is that a problem? Who was is it anyways?" he asked.

Sara pointed out Grant to Charlie as he made his way around to the other customers.

"Oh, nice. The only straight guy in here and you find him…good for you."

"What? How'd you know that?"

"I'm gay. That automatically means I'm equipped with gaydar. Right now, it's not going off. That and the fact that he's staring at you right now kinda tells me that he's into chicks not di-"

"I get it!"

"No, you need to get it. Mission number two, remember?" Charlie dug around in his pockets and pulled out a yellow piece of paper. "Mine's already accomplished. Take him home, and I won't feel so bad about this guy."

"You're taking a guy back to my place?! I thought you were joking!"

"No, Sara. _Our_ place, remember? His name is Ty. Fucking deal with it for one night, please?"

"Fine. What the hell am I supposed to do, then? No way in hell am I taking this guy home. I might be pissed at you know who, but I'm not about to actually cheat on him."

"Just tell him that. Even though Grissom's a total dick, he's still your boyfriend."

Sara's eyes narrowed. "I told you not to mention that name."

"What the hell ever. I'm going to go get Ty so we can go."

"We've only been here for twenty minutes, Charlie." She protested.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, and what if I wanted to stay longer?"

Charlie looked over at Grant and back to Sara. "Is there a reason you'd like to stay longer?"

"No!" she yelled quickly. "You know I'm not even like that. I'm just giving you a hard time."

He looked at Grant, who was smiling at Sara, again. "Not just me you're giving a hard-"

"Charlie!" she warned.

"Fine."

"Go get your friend and meet me at the door. I've got to pay for my drink." She waived him off and waived Grant over.

He gladly obliged.

"Yes?" he asked as he leaned over the bar again.

"Yeah, I guess we're leaving." She shrugged.

He looked disappointed. "Really? You just sat down, though."

"I know, but Charlies' got all the numbers he needs and has some guy he likes with him now. Here's for the drink." She said as she fished around in her bag.

"No." Grant put a hand on her arm to stop her. She looked up at him and he smiled sweetly, "Don't worry about it, Sara."

"I've got a boyfriend." She blurted.

"Oh. That…well, really? Okay." He reached under the bar, pulled out a card and handed it to her. "In case it doesn't work out…for some reason or another, Sara."

The way he said her name just then made her glad she was leaving. She took the card, thanked him and made her way towards Charlie and Ty as quickly as she could.

The three of them made it home as the rain had finally let up. Sara drove, Charlie rode bitch, and Ty rode shotgun. She had a bunch of junk in the back seat of her car, and there was no way she wanted to hear the noises the guys would have made while she drove.

Once they arrived Charlie and Ty walked arm and arm to the door. Sara had just got it opened and moved out of the way when the two strolled by. She pursed her lips as they both giggled and made their way down the hallway. Charlie's room was right next to hers, and right now she wanted to be as far away as humanly possible.

Sara grabbed a beer from the fridge and turned on the radio to drown out the escalating noises. She stopped in front the sliding balcony door, and admired her reflection.

"Sara Sidle, you are a baaad girl." She grinned and moved to the couch.

After making herself more comfortable by taking off the leather pants, Sara picked up her latest forensics magazine and began thumbing through it. The CD player changed disks and the mellow noise of Pink Floyd began to flood the room.

"I don't think so." She picked up the remote and switched to another disk. Something with more of a heartbeat.

"Ah, much better." A somewhat mellow song from the Red Hot Chili Peppers began to play.

After she had flipped half way through, a loud THUD echoed down the hall.

Her face cringed before she turned slowly to look down the hall. "Damn, Charlie. Been a while?" She laughed to herself, before continuing on her reading.

That morning Sara woke to the smell of coffee. For a brief moment she thought Grissom was there. He always got up before her to start the coffee. As the haze cleared, she saw Charlie and Ty standing together in the kitchen.

"Good morning, dear." Charlie said, as he approached her with a steaming mug.

"Nice."

He looked down, "What?"

She pointed at his choice of boxer shorts. They were black silk with little red hearts covering them.

"You should see Ty's. Hey Ty, come show Sara your shorts."

Ty pranced over, and Sara laughed as she took a sip, nearly causing the hot liquid to come out her nose.

"Now those, I like."

"Thanks." Ty smiled as he looked to his shorts. Bright yellow, with the smiley face on the butt, and on the front, there were only eyes and around the crotch, the mouth formed an 'O'.

"Stop looking, he's mine." Charlie said, bringing her out of her giggle fit. "Now we're making breakfast, what would you like?"

She looked at the two men standing before her in nothing but their colorful shorts. The possibility of keeping a straight face was impossible as she began to giggle again.

"Fine, you'll eat what we eat. Come on Ty. These straight people, how they ever survive is beyond me."

* * *

Grissom had been holed up in his office all night. The lights finally came back on a few hours after he had sent everyone home, but he knew they needed the break, so he didn't call them back. After accomplishing absolutely nothing in his office, he decided to call it a night and go home. Or so he thought.

He pursed his lips when his phone rang. "Grissom."

"Grissom, it's Sofia. Hey, I've got a homicide victim and a rape victim that needs processing ASAP, and I can't get a hold of anyone else."

Her voice sounded somewhat desperate to him.

"It's alright. I'll get Sara to process the rape vic and I'll process the homicide. Are they connected?"

"I believe so, yes."

"Text me the address and I'll be there as soon as I find Sara."

"Great."

He hung up wondering if he should even call Sara. Or would she even answer seeing his name appear on her caller ID. He dialed.

Sara was half enjoying herself, listening to Charlie and Ty bicker and flirt in her kitchen. When it got silent, she looked up to see them in a lip lock.

"Get a room."

Charlie pulled away from Ty. "We will, after breakfast."

They all laughed until Sara's cell phone started ringing. She looked at Charlie knowing exactly who it was that was calling.

"Don't answer it, Sara. That's what he wants."

"What if it's about work?"

"Hello...it's..." he looked around for a clock. "What time is it?"

"It's nearly eight."

"So let him call someone else. He'll just have to deal."

Sara narrowed her eyes and turned to her phone. With a sigh, she shut it off.

"Atta girl."

"Charlie, you are a bad influence on me." She stood and went into the kitchen to join them.

"Mmm, mmm, mmm, if Charlie had legs like you, lord help us all." Ty observed, as Sara stood wearing nothing but her tank top and a pair of black panties. "Too bad what's-his-face is such a stick in the mud. I think he needs his eyes checked."

Charlie nodded in agreement. "And his libido."

Sara even giggled at the last comment, knowing that it was far from the truth.

So the three of them stood clad in their underwear and made breakfast.

Grissom scowled as he was unable to reach Sara for the sixth time. He closed his phone as the Denali came to a stop next to her car. With a sigh he got out and climbed the stairs to her apartment.

He was about to knock when a loud bang echoed from inside, and he heard Sara scream. Grissom had the key in the lock and the door opened so fast that the occupants never saw him come in.

"Sara!"

All three stopped dead in their tracks at the sound of Grissom's voice. A frying pan was on the floor, Ty was sitting on the breakfast bar, and Charlie was holding Sara by the arm as she had attempted to escape down the hall.

Grissom's eyes narrowed as he evaluated the situation laid out before him.

"Damn Sara, I know three's a threesome, but I don't know if I can handle four?" Ty spoke innocently, as he had no idea who the man was that had just barged in.

"Gil, it's not what it looks like."

He sucked in a breath, willing himself to keep calm. "We have a scene." Grissom said nothing more as he turned and walked quickly out the door.

* * *

OK, so I hope you liked it and we're all back on speaking terms again. Oh, and if you already have not done so, PM the spoon and wish her a happy 20th. It was the 20th. Is that not cool or what.

thegreatTDCSI


	7. Chapter 7

Alright...this being wickedly late is all my fault. Trudy and Kim prodded and prodded at me to get it done and I just got sidetracked and shit. My bad. Trudy kicks ass for being my fanfic mediator and Kim kicks ass for the speedy beta.

Enjoy.

* * *

Grissom was impatiently waiting for Sara in the Denali while she changed into more appropriate clothing for work. He checked his watch meticulously, as if he was in a hurry. Four minutes and twenty two seconds later, Sara emerged from her apartment and ran to the truck, field kit in hand. She stowed it in the back before breathlessly climbing into the front seat.

He pulled on the lever, placing the vehicle into reverse, and backed recklessly out of the parking slot. Sara wanted to say something about his behavior, but if he wanted to hear the truth, he should be the one to ask. Instead, he was making things up as he went.

She didn't speak to him, and he didn't speak to her, not even about where they were going. He drove for nearly twenty minutes before finally speaking.

"I need you to process a rape victim. Sofia said she's still at the scene."

Sara nodded.

"She killed her boyfriend." He risked a look at Sara. "He's the one who assaulted her."

"Okay."

Grissom showed no emotion as he turned into the driveway of a house that looked as if it was right out of the movie 'Pleasantville'. They both climbed out, they quickly scanned the area.

Sofia waved at them from the front porch, and they headed her way. A voice stopped them.

"Sara."

Sara turned in shock, Grissom turned, agitated. A man whose voice he did not recognize was calling out Sara's name.

"Grant."

"Didn't think we would see each other so soon, huh?"

She smiled and turned to quickly glance at Grissom. His face remained neutral as he went to meet Sofia.

"No, no I didn't."

"Well, I live across the street, and when I came home from the bar, there was nothing but cop cars. What are you doing here?"

"I'm a forensic investigator." She pointed to her vest.

"So you're a cop."

"No."

"You're carrying a gun."

"We have to."

Sara was getting a strange vibe off of Grant as he asked his questions. She heard Grissom clear his throat in the background and knew she needed to cut this conversation short.

"Listen, I need to get going."

"Sure. I'll see ya around."

With a slight smile, Sara turned on her heel and went to meet up with Grissom and Sofia.

The scene was processed in record time. Sara finished up with the victim and went to wait outside. Only when she saw Grant still standing at the yellow tape did she change her mind. The last thing she wanted to do was to give Grissom the impression that she was flirting in front of him on purpose, because that's exactly what he would be thinking.

Grissom was gathering together the evidence he had found when she walked in.

"Need any help?"

He looked over his shoulder at her, not responding.

"Guess not." She whispered under her breath.

When he finished, she followed him out to the Denali. She risked a glance in Grant's direction and, as she suspected, he was watching her. He motioned for her to come over to him.

"Friend of yours?"

She turned back to Grissom. "Just some guy we ran into last night. He was bartending."

Grissom just raised his eyebrows briefly. "He looks like he wants you to talk to him."

Suddenly feeling braver about her position with Grissom, Sara moved closer to him, to give him a piece of her mind. "What the fuck's your problem?" She kept her voice low.

He narrowed his eyes. "Just get in."

Grissom shut the tailgate and moved to the driver's side to climb in. Sara quickly followed suit, not happy with his avoidance.

She didn't wait until they had drove off before ripping him a new one. "I asked you a question."

"Not now." He pulled away from the scene, hoping to get away from the crowd.

"Yes, now. Answer me, Grissom."

He remained silent and poised, looking out the windshield. Sara was hoping for an answer, even though she knew she wasn't going to get one.

"God, why do you have to be so ignorant?"

"Ha! Me, ignorant? I'm not the one that's running around Vegas flirting with everyone I meet when I'm in a relationship with another person."

His voiced boomed like thunder inside the cab. Sara looked into his eyes and saw the angry flames behind his pinprick pupils. Yup, he was mad.

"Well, if you would open your eyes, you would see that I'm not flirting with anyone. That guy back there, so he hit on me last night. Whoopdy-do. I informed him that I was already seeing someone, and that I was just out with a friend. And that's all Charlie is, a friend."

Grissom remained silent as she talked. Even when she was done, he had nothing to say. Deep down inside him that little voice was saying, 'Told ya so'. When he had finally thought of something intelligent to say, he was pulling into the parking lot at Sara's apartment.

"I'll see you later." She jumped out before the vehicle had even come to a complete stop, grabbed her kit, and went inside the building without even a glance back.

For a moment Grissom paused, shaking his head at the reality that he was being ignorant. He jumped to his own conclusions. Now it seemed as if he might loose Sara and it was all his fault.

--------------------------

"Did you have to slap a ho?"

Great…Charlie's piece of man meat was still in her friggin' apartment. Just what she needed right now.

She sighed loudly as she flopped onto the couch. "No, I did not have to slap anyone, Ty."

"Sara…what the hell was that all about? Why did he just walk in here? How the hell did he just walk in here?" Charlie asked.

"He has a key. Duh. I've got one to his place too."

"He's being a dick.Why does he still have access to your place?"

"Because, we are hopefully going to work all of this out. He's going to realize that he is being a total idiot, that he is jealous of a gay man, that I did nothing wrong in any of the situations we've been in and he'll apologize with some fantastic scheme and great sex."

"Sounds like a ton of fun." Ty joked.

She shrugged. "Should be."

"What did he have to say about what he saw this morning?" Charlie asked.

"Nothing. He said nothing about it at all."

"He's that pissed?"

"Obviously. Oh, and guess who was at my scene, Charlie."

"Mother Teresa?"

"No, smartass. It was that guy from last night. The bartender, Grant."

"Um, stalker!" Ty joked, as he made is way to the other room to get dressed.

"That's kind of what I'm thinking. He said he lived right by there, so it could have been coincidence, but he didn't even have to say anything for me to know he was there. He was watching me."

"Yeah…I guess this wouldn't be the best time for me to tell you that I…may have given your number to him." Charlie said quietly.

"What?!" Sara yelled. "Not cool, Charlie. Not cool at all. I'm trying to get Grissom to pull his head out of his ass, and you go and give my number out to some guy that's probably a whack job? When the hell did you even have time?"

"Remember when I had to run back in to go to the bathroom?"

"Vaguely."

"Well, I didn't have to go to the bathroom. And don't look at me like that. He was flirting with you, you were flirting with him, and he is hot."

"And now he was at one of my scenes."

"But he lived nearby. Its not like the guy is stalking you, Sara. Ease up."

"I'm off." Ty announced, as he came back. "See you two later?"

"Definitely." Charlie said, as he walked him out.

"Now, has Grissom seen this guy?"

"Of course, he was waving at me like a damn fool. It's pretty much impossible for Grissom not to have noticed. He snapped on me for it, saying something about me flirting with everyone while I'm in a relationship."

"Well, at least Grissom is still thinking like you two are a thing, not like you two are done."

"He just thinks I'm out doing things and people that I'm not, like I'm not serious about what we're doing."

"He's just being an idiot right now. He'll figure it out in the end." Charlie tried calming her.

"He better figure it out. Dumbass is jealous of a gay guy and a wanna-be stalker."

Charlie laughed, "Sounds like something out of a novice written story."

"No shit. Well, I'm going to take a shower before we head back." She said as she stood up.

"Where?"

"Work, Charlie. In two hours, actually."

"Oh, shit. Hurry up in there, then."

Sara and Charlie pulled into the parking lot just in time to see Grissom make his way across the lot. He was moping towards the building.

"He's either pissed or ready to break." Charlie suggested.

"Lets hope he's ready to break. I can't take 'pissed Grissom' anymore."

Grissom was sitting in his semi-dark office thumbing through the night's assignments. He kept thinking of how he could smooth things over with Sara, as she had made it clear that he was the one overreacting. With a confident self-nod, he stood and walked with determination to the break room to pass out the assignments.

Everyone was talking small talk, but when he walked in, silence. Grissom cleared his throat. "Warrick, double homicide, west of Henderson, take Charlie, Vartan is already there. Nick, an apparent murder-suicide on the far south side."

"Speakin' Spanish." Nick shot out, with a quick nod of his head.

"Yeah, take Greg. Sara will be with me here in the lab from an earlier case, call if you guys need anything."

And with that, everyone but Sara stood and headed out. Charlie gave her a quick wink before following Warrick. Grissom remained at his post until the room was cleared.

"May I see you in my office?"

Sara pursed her lips, the temptation to just tell him 'no' was right there, but the tone of his voice led her to believe he was ready to roll over. So, she just smiled at him before standing to follow him out.

He held open the door for her as she entered, but quickly closed it. Sara didn't turn to face him, only piddled with the many items on display.

"Um, I was wondering if I could take you to dinner tomorrow night, before shift?"

Keeping her back to him, "Sure. I'll have to cancel my plans with Charlie."

Grissom's eyes dropped to the floor, defeated. "Oh."

Sara turned to take in his depressed state. "Maybe he could join us."

"I can't compete."

"What? Look at me when you talk, I can't hear you when you are talking to the floor."

He looked up, exposing his hurt eyes. "I can't compete with him. I don't have as much to offer, if you feel he'll be more suited to your needs..."

"Grissom, stop! Just stop. I can't believe you're this insecure. I told you that Charlie was a friend, and that's exactly what he is." She moved to stand directly in front of him. "Besides, I'm not sure how much his boyfriend would like him switching sides."

Suddenly everything fit into place as his eyes rose up in shock. Sara leaned forward and placed a kiss to his cheek. "I'll tell Charlie we're going on a double date tomorrow. Is that alright?"

Grissom was still in shock, and could only nod.

"Good. I'll be in DNA."

He watched as she walked out, and it took him several minutes to come around. "Charlie's gay?"

* * *

There ya go.

A lot of reviews after this long would make Trudy forgive me, I think. You should help me out.

thegreatTDCSI


	8. Chapter 8

So, I have a new computer, and I finally got thespoon convinced to write something. Our poor beta is barely functional, so this is all on us, but we're getting good. I'm going to do all I can to get the next chapter up in a more timely fashion. So far the reviews have been good, considering our lack of updating.

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Chapter 8

1The night had passed without incident, but when morning rolled around, Grissom found himself having to process an early morning robbery. He was pulling out of his parking slot when he saw Sara and Charlie exit the building. Without touching the gas, Grissom let the truck idol it's way to where they were.

"Hey."

Sara turned. "Hey back. You off?"

Grissom reluctantly shook his head. "Last minute scene. I'm not sure how dinner will work out."

Charlie nudged Sara hard enough she had to take a step forward in order to keep her balance. "Dammit," she uttered under her breath. "Uh, want help?"

"It's just a robbery."

"If I help, it will go faster, and then we could make our dinner date. Besides, Charlie has already lined up his date."

Charlie smiled proudly. Grissom raised his eyebrows. "If you don't have anything else planned..."

"No, she doesn't." Charlie pushed her around the Denali, and into the passenger seat. "I'll see ya later."

Once the door was shut, Grissom drove off to the scene. They remained quite, but it was a peaceful quiet as they worked. Back to the mind reading and subtle touching.

As Grissom predicted, it didn't take them long to process the scene. Sara was loading the several evidence bags and something caused her to look over her shoulder. It was that sick feeling like she was being watched. There he was- Grant. Watching her intensely, but not approaching her this time. Goose bumps surfaced on her skin.

"Hey, you alright?"

She turned back to Grissom who had appeared from nowhere. "Yeah, fine."

Knowing they were out of sight of the officers, Grissom reached up to take the camera from her shoulder. He slid it off and let his hand linger, grazing her delicate skin as it made it's way down her arm. She smiled and as he turned his back to place the camera into the truck. Sara turned, only he was gone.

Her gaze lingered on the spot he once stood in.

"Sara."

"Huh?"

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine. Come on, let's get this back to the lab."

Sara was paranoid now, checking the mirrors to see if there might be one vehicle that lingered behind them. She knew she was crazy; it had to be a coincidence. Yeah, that's what it was, coincidence.

They stop at the lab was brief. Sara ran in and ran out. Grissom drove her home.

"So, where are we going tonight?"

Shit, he hadn't thought that far ahead. "Ummm..."

Sara couldn't help but giggle. "It's okay. Just call me when you figure it out." She opened the door and climbed out. "Bye, Gil."

"Bye." He watched as she strolled to her door and entered. "You dumb ass. Ask her to dinner, sit in your office all night thinking about it, but fail to decide on a restaurant. Genius, Gil, pure genius."

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"I'd tell you to go to hell, Charlie, but you'd see too many of your friends there to have a bad time." She said with a punch to his ribs.

After he got his breath back, he responded, "what? Didn't have a good time working with Grissom?"

"You are such an asshole! What the hell is the matter with you? I can't believe you just shoved me into a car with that man." Sara ranted.

"Good Lord. Cry about it already. Did you two talk at all? Oh, where ya goin'?!"

"Gossip Queen. He didn't have it worked out. Had it worked out in his head that he and I were going to go out together, but hasn't got the slightest clue as to where."

Charlie tilted his head to the side in confusion. "I thought he was, like, a genius."

"Grissom _is_ a genius…when it comes to anything that isn't social."

"Whatever." Charlie said. "He'll figure it out and sweep you off your feet. Hopefully it will be quite literally…because you're kind of being a bitch right now and you _really _need a little bit."

Her jaw dropped.

"No, that does nothing for you, my dear." He joked.

She slapped his arm and remembered what she had to tell him. "Oh my god! Guess who was at the scene again!"

"Ooh, the stalker guy again?"

"Yes! He didn't talk to me this time, though. Just stood there and stared at me."

Charlie scoffed, "Freak."

"Freaky is more like it. This is the second time and I didn't tell Grissom about it this one."

"Why not?"

"Why worry him about something that's probably nothing? Grant's probably just got some grade school infatuation with me that'll pass with a little time, Charlie."

"Yeah, we could go with that. Or he's a psychotic nut job that wants to cut out your heart and eat the damn thing." He said with a shrug.

"Nice, Charlie, really nice. What happened to you being the one talking to me about him being normal? What happened to the coincidence?"

"Uh, that flew out the window when he showed up again. Besides, if he isn't talking to you, just watching you, then chances are that you have yourself a stalker. I'm a CSI just like you are, Sara. I know about this just as much as you. I say stalker and that you need to tell Grissom tonight."

"I'm not worried about it."

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Grissom had it all planned out now. He had informed Sara that they would be dinning at Fleur de Lys, a very classy restaurant at Mandalay Bay. He knew he needed to pull out all the stops in order to regain her trust. With a final run down of his appearance in the mirror, he looked at himself. Grissom couldn't help but smile. The black suit, royal blue shirt, and silver tie accented his features nicely.

It wasn't his intention to seduce Sara. Well, yeah it was. He was missing her in his arms, in his bed, under him in a sweaty bliss. Grissom shook his head. He didn't need to be trying to hide an erection at dinner.

Grissom stopped briefly to pick up a bunch of flowers before making his way to Sara's apartment. Before getting out, he gave himself a quick dab of Aspen cologne. He knocked twice and heard the commotion behind the door.

"No, Charlie. Dammit!"

The door swung open, and Charlie couldn't help but whistle.

"Sara, we're trading dates. This man's so hot; he's going to spontaneously combust."

"Actually, spontaneous human combustion has never been proven."

"Never mind. He's talking science, not sex. You can keep him." Charlie walked away and Grissom released a sigh of relief.

Sara was standing in her kitchen area wearing a shining silver cocktail dress with spaghetti straps and a slit that never seemed to end. She knew by the dumfounded look on Grissom's face that he liked her outfit.

"Thank you, Charlie." She whispered to him as she made her way to Grissom.

"Welcome."

She stopped a few feet in front of him. "Are those for me?"

"Um, yeah." He held out the bundle of flowers.

"Thank you. I'm going to put them in some water."

Another knock came at the door. "Yesssss." Charlie ran over and before he opened the door, made sure his suit was free of wrinkles. He swung open the door. "It's about..." The sudden silence caused Grissom and Sara to turn and see what had rendered the very talkative Charlie speechless.

"Hello, honey."

"Frank, what are you doing here?"

Grissom turned to Sara for an explanation, but when her shocked expression greeted him, he knew it wasn't good.

"I decided to take a vacation and visit you. I've been lonely with you gone. Why are you all dressed up?"

"Sara, Gil, and I are going out to dinner."

"Two guys and a girl. Are you switch hitting again?"

Just the mere thought of what was implied caused Sara to laugh. Grissom didn't get it.

"Hello." Another man appeared behind Frank. Only this one was dressed up and clutching a single red rose.

Sara brought her hand to her head. "Oh shit."

Grissom moved to stand next to her. "What?"

She just pointed to her entryway. "Did you make reservations?"

"Yeah."

"Can we change them?"

"No. What's going on?"

"Well, Charlie's been dating Frank for a year now. But he's promiscuous. If a man walks by, he's only thinking of how he could get him into bed. Gay or not."

"And the other guy...?"

"Never seen him before. I thought he was inviting Ty. Remember the other guy? Well, that's not Ty, and with Frank's sudden appearance, I'm thinking it's going to just be the two of us."

Grissom and Sara turned to watch the scene unfold before them.

"Oh, I get it, Charlie. While the cat's away, the mice will play. Only the mice left the cat at home. So, who is this?" Frank turned to look at the other man.

"This is Josh."

"Hi."

"Shut up." Frank turned back to Charlie. "What's his last name?"

Charlie shrugged his shoulders. "I forgot. Look, Frank, let me explain."

"How many men have you slept with while you have been here?"

To Grissom, it was like watching a train wreck. He didn't want to hear anything, but couldn't look away either.

Charlie sighed, "Frank..."

"Answer me. How many? Not how many times, how many men?"

"Three."

"Charlie!" Both Frank and Sara exclaimed.

Grissom's jaw dropped.

Charlie was quick to defend himself against Sara. "I only brought Ty here, the others were at their places." he turned back to Frank. "I'm sorry Frank, you know what I was like when we got together. Did you just expect me to change after a year of monogamy?"

Frank sniffled, "I knew coming here would do this to you, and yes, I thought you could change."

They all stood wondering what course of action should be taken next. Finally Grissom broke the silence. "We have reservations." He took Sara by her elbow and led her to the front door. "Charlie and Josh is it, you are welcome to join us, but we need to get going."

"I think I'll pass." Charlie replied looking at his sobbing boyfriend.

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Grissom escorted Sara into the elegant restaurant.

"This is too much, Gil." She tried to whisper under her nervousness.

"Nothing's too much for you." he quickly responded.

They were seated and Grissom ordered a bottle of wine from the waiter. He picked up his menu and instead of scanning for what he was going to eat, the charade that occurred at her apartment had him wanting to ask so many questions.

"So..." He said smoothly without looking up. "That was awkward back there, huh?"

"For you?"

"Well, I've never been a witness to anything like that, but I guess I don't get who's who?"

Sara smiled and sipped her wine. "It's too hard to explain."

The waiter returned to take their orders.

"Grissom, there are no prices on here."

"So?"

She grinned. "I'll have the Alaskan King Salmon."

"Excellent choice. And for the gentleman?"

"I'll try the Filet Mignon."

"Very good, sir." The waiter quickly made himself scarce.

To Grissom's surprise, the evening went off with out a hitch. It was even better since he was alone with Sara. He had no idea how he was going to carry on a conversation with Charlie and whom ever he had invited.

After paying the tab and driving to Sara's apartment, always the gentleman, Grissom escorted her to the door.

"Too bad we both have to work tonight."

"Yeah."

"It looks like Charlie is gone. Can I get a ride from you to work?"

"Sure." Grissom leaned in and placed a kiss on her soft lips.

The urge to deepen it and take her right there was ever so tempting, but he was able to keep his hormones in check. Although the kiss did linger longer than the normal goodnight kiss.

"I'll be back in an hour."

Sara smiled, "Sounds good." She opened her door and stepped through it. "Bye."

"Bye."

The drive home was killing Grissom. He desperately needed a cold shower, either that or a little bit of lubricant. The cold shower won over.

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As soon as she turned from her door, she wished, more than anything, that Grissom hadn't left. Not because she wanted him in her apartment, but because if Grissom was there, he could do something about the other man that was.

"Uh…hey." She plastered a fake smile across her face.

"Sara. How are you feeling?"

"Well, I was doing alright."

"Was?"

"Yes, was. I now have the problem of trying to figure out how you got in my apartment, Grant. Other than that, I've had a pretty good day."

"Oh, I know all about your day. I asked how you felt because, Sara, you had quite a bit to drink tonight."

Great. The creepy son of a bitch had been around for her date.

"I only had two glasses, Grant."

"That's an awful lot more than what you've had in a while. Isn't it? After that whole incident a couple years ago, you haven't really had that much to drink in a while."

"How…uh, how do you know about that?"

He took a few steps towards her. "Oh, don't worry about how I know, just know that I do. Is it him that makes you drink, Sara? Is he the same man that drove you to drink that night at the bar? The boyfriend?"

"Y-yes"

"That's not very nice of him, now is it?"

"Look, Grant, I-"

"Sara, that man is no good for you!" His booming voice cut her off. "I knew it from the moment you sat down in that club that you were not with someone that was worthy of you."

She stepped back as her stepped closer and closer to her.

"Grant, I really do think it best that you leave right now. Come back tomorrow and we'll talk then. Right now I'm tired." She tried.

"Have another drink with me." He said and stepped around her to the kitchen. He grabbed two glasses and a bottle of wine from the island and made her sit down with him on the small couch. "Here." He said and poured the glasses.

"I think you were right before. About me having too much, you know. I think I'll pass."

"Sara, drink." It didn't come out in a demanding voice, but the look on his face more than made up for it.

Begrudgingly, Sara took a small sip of hers. Yes, she was able to watch him open the wine and pour it into a glass with nothing in it, but she still trusted the man about as far as she could throw him.

"More, Sara. A little more." He more than suggested.

A few more sips and about ten minutes later, Grant was peering outside her apartment windows, looking for a way to get a body outside without drawing a flood of attention to himself.

* * *

Oh shit. See this is what happens when you have a stalker. Well, at least a real stalker, not an internet one. Those are just fun. And check out the total switch up in writing styles there. I got funny and thespoon got serious. Betcha can't tell who's who now huh? So, hit the little square and give us a review of whatcha all think so far.

thegreatTDCSI


	9. Chapter 9

First of all, for those of you that HAVE reviewed, thank you. To those who are still virgin reviewers, we need more. Tell all of your friends that if we don't get to 100 reivews by the time thespoon gets to Texas, we're ending this story which means no tattoo. IF we get to 100, she's getting a tattoo of her pen name and I'm getting another one. We'll even put up pictures for you to see. This was supposed to be posted by thespoon the other day, but becasue I didn't upload it or some shit like that, I'm posting it. Technical difficulties. So enjoy this chapter it could be your last.

And mad props to our healty beta Kakidoll. Happy b-day.

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Chapter 9

So far, so good. Grissom was on his way back to Sara's thinking of nothing but how his evening had gone. It didn't take long for him to change out of his suit and into normal work attire. Sara had asked him to pick her up in an hour, forty-five minutes. He wanted nothing more than to rush back over and wait for her to finish, but he also wanted to respect her wishes. Grissom did all that he could think of to kill time, and before he knew it, his townhouse was clean.

As he pulled into the parking lot, noticed Sara's car had returned. Great, he had to deal with whatever theatrics followed Charlie once again. In several quick strides, he was knocking on her door. It swiftly opened just moments later.

"Grissom."

"Charlie. I'm here to take Sara to the lab."

"I thought she was with you."

Grissom narrowed his eyes. "I dropped her off exactly one hour ago. You were gone, and she instructed me to pick her up for work in an hour."

"Well, aren't you 'Johnny on the spot' But no, she's not here."

"What do you mean 'she's not here'?"

"Just like I said, she's not here. Damn."

Grissom pushed his way into the apartment. "Sara."

"Dude, I'm telling you, she's not here. I came home twenty minutes ago, and there was no one here. The front door was locked and I figured you two were having a good time. Did you?"

He stopped his search briefly. "What!?"

"Did you have a good time?"

"Like this is the time." Grissom headed to Sara's bedroom, closely followed by Charlie. It was empty as well. "What are you doing?"

Charlie opened Sara's closet. "Well, if she told you to pick her up for work, do you think she would wear that 'give a man a heart attack' dress to the lab?"

Grissom could only give a slight shake of his head as he watched Charlie begin his search. While Charlie went through the closet, Grissom began to look over the entire area again. He even dialed her cell phone. "Come on, Sara, pick up."

When the ringing was heard over near the kitchen table he shut his phone and strode over to where Sara's still lay ringing. Grissom knew instantly that something was wrong, something seriously wrong.

-------------------------------------------

She couldn't see a damn thing and could remember just as much.

She'd never tasted rotting ass before, but she'd place an even bet on it being just like the taste in her mouth right then.

Her head hurt, her wrists hurt, and her ankles hurt.

Taking all this into account, Sara surmised that she was tied up, gagged and blindfolded.

Well… that sure as hell wasn't a good thing.

Wherever she was (and she was also willing to place an even bet that it wasn't her apartment if she was blindfolded) it was warm, dry and quiet…very quiet.

She lay there, wherever 'there' was, awake for a few minutes trying to hear anything that would give her a clue to her whereabouts. She heard nothing so moved onto trying to get free of her restraints.

They weren't plastic…that was nice. At least the asshole that tied her up was nice enough to give her something that wasn't going to give her scars later. Too bad he tied them so tightly that they were nearly cutting off circulation in her hands and feet.

As she struggled, Sara let out a small grunt from the effort. Something she really thought nothing of…until she heard footfalls quickly approaching. Instinct took over and she played possum.

"Sara, Sara, Sara." He chuckled. "Silly little girl, I know you're awake. I've been watching you, of course I know."

'_Grant?'_ Sara thought. '_Where the hell did he come from?'_

"Now, I'm going to help you out a bit here, Sara, but only a bit. You get the blindfold off or the gag out, but not both, right now. Which would you like, sweetheart?"

Sara had always figured being unable to see the world around her would be worse than anything else, so she opted for the blindfold to come off.

"Right now, your memory is failing you. Don't worry, though. Eventually, some, or all, may come back. Bits and pieces are better than nothing at all." Grant mused.

She'd known it was Grant when she heard his voice, but she hadn't felt like throwing up until she actually saw him leering over her. She yelled a few choice words at him through the cloth he'd shoved in her mouth, but he just chuckled and brushed some hair out of her face before returning to his seat on the ground a few feet away from her.

"You woke up faster than I thought you would. Always the overachiever." He smiled lightly.

Trying to set him on fire with her eyes wasn't working, so she immediately began to take in her surroundings.

Nothing.

Not one damn thing except for the car they apparently arrived there in.

"You won't figure it out. Smarter than the average bear, you may be, but you won't figure out where we are. Desert, that much I'm sure, is obvious by the ground you're laying on and the view you've taken in. You don't remember the drive due to the drugs in your system, for that I'll apologize."

A curious eyebrow was the response he got.

"Tiny dose of liquid ketamine." He answered her obvious question. "Enough time around the club scene and you hear enough about dosing to know just how much to give someone. I'd never hurt you, Sara; I hope to God you know that I would never hurt you. I've been around you enough times…know that I've had plenty of chances to do so if that's what I wished. The rim of your glass probably had barely enough to knock out your Doctor Grissom, you know."

'_Ooh, Sara, have another glass with me_!' she thought. '_Asshole_!'

Grant looked at his watch and smiled. "Sara, sweetheart, how much would you like to bet that your ignorant boyfriend and that damn roomie of yours are at the lab now? Let the tail chasing begin, yeah?"

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The lab was in its night shift hustle and bustle when Grissom practically ran through the halls with Charlie right on his heels, carrying a brown sealed evidence bag.

"Guys, layout room, now!" Grissom barked, as he passed the break room.

Warrick, Nick, & Greg all rolled their eyes and slowly made their way to the layout room. Grissom was being nice to Charlie as they were taking things out of the bag. Just that alone was enough to peak their interests.

"What's going on, you guys?" Greg was the first one to ask.

Charlie looked up at the others. "Sara's missing."

"How do you know?" Nick took the lead of questioning Charlie.

Grissom shot Charlie a sharp glance, a silent threat to keep what he knew silent. "She had a date this evening. I used her car, and I guess her date was supposed to come back and give her a ride to the lab."

Nick scoffed. "Maybe she's still on her date?"

"No. Her date returned and we did that whole game of 'she's not here, yes she is' crap. He told me he had dropped her off, and was instructed to return in one hour. I got back approximately forty minutes after he dropped her off. The door was locked, so I never suspected a thing until the boyfriend showed up."

Warrick looked somewhat confused. "So what's all of this?"

"I found her cell phone on the kitchen table. Since when does Sara leave without her phone?" Charlie asked.

No one could answer.

He pulled out a wine bottle and two glasses. "Her date said he never went inside. So, who drank these?"

"Greg, print and check the bottle for trace; Nick take the glasses, I'm taking the surveillance tape from the building across the street from Sara's apartment complex to Archie."

"What do you want me to do?" Warrick was anxious to help.

"Go with Charlie. He says Sara kept mentioning a guy at a few of her last crime scenes." Grissom finished and headed off to the AV lab.

Grissom walked to Archie's lab and pulled the door shut as he went in. "Arch, I need you to look at this."

Archie took the tape and began to cue it up. He had the computer screen in front of him, but he always used the large monitor on the wall. Grissom looked around to see several people walking around and knew what was about to be seen by Archie, he wasn't ready for the world to know.

He picked up the remote and shut off the monitor. "Hey!"

"Arch, what's on this tape doesn't leave the room."

He took one look at Grissom's face and agreed.

"Ok, go back to..." He checked his watch, remembering it was just after eight when he dropped off Sara. "...try eight."

The tape rewound to precisely eight o'clock. Archie pressed play and it only took a few minutes when he recognized the Denali that dropped her off. "There's Sara, but I can't make out the guy she's with." Just as he was about to zoom in, Grissom stopped him.

"Don't worry about him, we want to focus on after that."

They continue to watch, Grissom watching himself, Archie watching a stranger. He knows if he turns away, Archie will have his suspicions.

"Oh, yeah." Archie comments, as the scene of Grissom kissing Sara at her door unfolds.

"Just focus, Arch."

The video continued as the 'boyfriend' pulled out of the parking lot. They continued to watch until Charlie arrived in Sara's car. Grissom let out a long breath.

"Okay. Go back to before she gets home. Like an hour."

Grissom checked his watch again; they were losing time. He looked up. "There, stop right there." The tape paused and they both took a closer look. "Zoom in right there."

Archie did, and revealed a shadow creeping along the edge of the building, approaching one of the windows and entering.

"I can't believe Sara doesn't lock her windows."

"She does." Grissom looked to Archie. "See if you can clean up that image."

Archie acknowledged and Grissom stood to leave. He quickly made his way to find Charlie and Warrick. "Find anything?"

Charlie looked up from the files he and Warrick were looking through. "I could only remember his first name, Grant. He was bartending the night Sara and I went out. She told me he was hitting on her then she saw him later at the crime scene. Then, she told me that she saw him at her last scene with you."

"She never mentioned anything to me."

"She said she didn't want you to overreact."

"And look where it got her."

Charlie looked at the open files. "So, I contacted the bar and they gave me the name, Grant Andersen. He's bartended there for the past year, previous to that; he worked at The Texas Twister."

"Where's that?"

"I've been there." Warrick spoke up. "Nick dragged Sara and I there several years ago, May of oh-four. Check and see if he worked there at that time."

Charlie flipped though several pages. "Yup. He was there."

Warrick nodded. "We all had a little too much that night. Nick and I took a cab home, Sara claimed she was fine."

Grissom looked up. She wasn't. He remembered that night as if it happened last night. The phone call, her sitting on the line of chairs at PD, disappointed in her actions. He had driven her home and got her the help that she needed. And now, she needed his help again.

-------------------------------------------------

"…and your Grissom just stood there like an idiot!" Grant laughed animatedly. "God-damned criminalist not catching on to the fact that Charlie was _gay_! Sara, you're honestly telling me that that's the man you wish to spend forever with?"

Sara responded with a snide look and some more choice words that were, once again, muffled by the gag Grant had shoved in her mouth.

"Oh, Sara, I'm only joking." Grant smiled. "Why so hateful all of a sudden?" He laughed heartily and took a drink of water.

Sara needed to get that gag out of her mouth. It tasted terrible for one thing, and for another thing, she wanted to be able to carry out a conversation with her captor…and being able to score some of that water would be nice. Grant was bordering on being in love with her; he'd do anything if he saw that she was in any immediate danger.

She started coughing slowly, but picked up the pace and the magnitude.

"Sara? Sara?!" He was back at her side in an instant and had the cloth out of her mouth a second later. "Its not nice to scare people like that." He said, a touch of sadness in his voice.

"Could I have some water, please?" she asked.

"Promise to stop calling me names, Sara? I've been nothing short of nice to you."

"Fine, I'm sorry." She lied and accepted the water he offered her. After drinking nearly the whole bottle, Sara retorted, "I wouldn't exactly call drugging me, tying me up, draggin' my ass out of my apartment and into the damn desert being nice, Grant."

He stared into her eyes and said, "I could have killed your Grissom."

Shocked, Sara's eyes went wide.

"Its what I originally planned, you know." He stated, calmly. "He's a bastard. For some odd reason, you don't see that. What my plans were for your friend Charlie, I'm still not sure. He treats you better than that asshole boyfriend of yours, but all that drama he drags into your life, all the strange men he brings into your home without your permission, Sara…what kind of friend is that?" he went on in, quite possibly, the creepiest tone Sara had heard out of him yet.

"If…Grant, if I asked you not to kill them…if I asked you not to do it, for me, would you leave them alone?" she tried.

He reached out to stroke her hair. "Oh, Sara…for you, they need to die." He smiled eerily.

"But they take care of me. Grissom, he helped get me into care I needed after I started drinking and-"

"That son of a bitch is what _made_ you drink, Sara! You need to stop making excuses for him!" he cut her off, yelling, and threw the empty bottle across the ground.

She knew she needed to play more into his game than what she had been if she was going to keep herself, and apparently others, alive in the situation.

After a couple minutes of silence, Sara decided to feed into Grant. "I once asked Grissom to dinner, before we were together, and he turned me down without even thinking twice about it."

"Yeah? When was this?" The thought of Sara dredging up hurtful memories of Grissom made Grant perk right up.

"Several years ago. Our lab kinda blew up, it was in the paper, big fuss and everything, but I cut my hand and he called me 'honey' right before he sent me off for stitches. I was on my way to ask him before it blew up, but after it did, it only made me more determined. I asked him…and he shut me down."

"Because he's a bastard." Grant said through gritted teeth.

"I cried that night. Grissom doesn't know that, he knows he upset me, but he doesn't know he hurt me like he did."

The worst thing about the conversation she was having with Grant right then, was that she was revealing the truth to him like she knew she shouldn't do. Grissom had been a bastard to her, had hurt her, and she had cried that night at his quick 'no.'

And now Grant knew all about it, all about a weak point.

They stayed where they were for, what Sara assumed to be, a few hours, judging by the ridiculous sunlight beating down on them. He continued to bathe her in random compliments while chastising her for her horrid taste in men and friends. She continued to accept it all in good stride.

"Can you tell me why you find me so interesting?" Sara tried, actually interested in hearing what he had to say about that.

"That…that's a conversation for another time."

"Why is that?" she asked.

"No worries about that, sweetheart. Other things are more important to worry about right now."

"Like?"

"Like you getting ready to start and us having no feminine products with us at all."

Oh, for fuck's sake.

Sara lost it. "You have got to be kidding me, Grant! What the hell is the matter with you? You go through my trash or something? You watch me that closely, you freak?!"

"I'm serious. I trust you to an extent, but I can't leave you outside by yourself while I go into a store. Then again…shopping together for something like that is a step towards something kinda serious." He smiled to himself, completely ignoring the fact that Sara just blew up at him.

She watched his state of blissful ignorance and reminded herself that she had to keep up with her would-be love affair with the whack job. "Grant, look, I can't take being in this position anymore."

Her voice snapping him out of his reverie, he asked, "lying down?"

"Well, that and…you know." She said, nodding to her bound hands and feet.

"Oh. Sara, well…I'll let you sit up, that's alright, but the hands and feet, I'm afraid, will have to stay that way."

Easily solved.

"Grant…"she cooed, "…they're hurting me."

Concern, trouble, and 'ah, shit' crossed his face as he looked at her.

"Feet or hands? You can't have both, sweetheart. I'm sorry if it hurts you, I really am, but you can't have both."

Like that was a hard choice to make. Sara chose for her feet to come undone. She might be able to knock him out with her hands…but she can't exactly run away on them too.

After he tossed the strips of cloth to the side and helped Sara sit up, Grant noticed Sara instantly start looking all around them again.

"Sara, you have no idea where you are. That means your dear Doctor Grissom has no idea where you are either." Grant paused to look around the same as she was. "Do you think, my dear Sara, that he cares enough for you?"

"What? Of course!" she spat.

"I've always thought you to be a very smart woman, Sara, very smart. Why you always strived for that man was one thing I just never understood and I found that to be your flaw. Not the drinking, not the reckless abandon, Sara…that man was your imperfection."

She grew tired of his musings and rolled her eyes. "Your point being?"

"Always just _so_ convinced that he was the one for you, that he loved you. You've been with me now for close to seven hours, so I'm curious now, sweetheart, as to whether or not you think he's still just _so_ in love with you, that he cares just _so_ much for you, that he's coming out to find you."

As much as she wanted to scream that Grissom was going to find her and that Grissom was going to kick his freaky ass all over the desert for ever having touched her, she refrained from doing so. She had to keep up with appearances. She had to be calm and cool, happy and certainly not freaked out.

"Can we sit in the car? It's hot…kinda boring too." She asked.

Grant checked his watch and nodded. "Of course. Its time for us to be going anyways." He said, helping her up.

"Oh? Where we going?"

He smiled, "our new home awaits us."

* * *

Oooooo, creepy bastard isn't he. Just remember to leave a reivew, thespoon has needs and those needs have to be met or bad things could happen. So click it or else. Just remember you only have 10 days until she arrives in Texas. So in order to get to another chapter, we want to see the review ticker in the triple didgets, and that can't happen without you. Gracias 

thegreatTDCSI


	10. Chapter 10

I've been in Texas for 4 days now and we've been running around having fun instead of writing. Bear with us while we drive Texas insane.

Also many thanks to Kakidoll for the beta. Wish you were here.

Even though we didn't get the 100 reviews we asked for, I was still going to get my pen name tattooed on me. The only thing is, is that I'm a really big genius and didn't realize that there is carbon in the black ink and my skin is wickedly sensitive to metals and basically everything else, so I was advised to never get a tattoo. So, if there are any suggestions…

* * *

Chapter 10

"What the fuck were you thinking?"

Everyone was taken back as Grissom approached Charlie.

"I'm sorry, I forgot." Charlie was backing up around the layout table as Grissom continued to stalk him.

Warrick, Nick, and Greg could only watch on as the scene unfolded before them.

Even as Charlie backed away, it was no use. Grissom's hands flew to the collar of his shirt and he was quickly shoved into the glass wall behind him.

"Be glad we're not in a tall building. I would throw your fairy ass out the window just to see if you could fly!"

"Calm down, I said I was sorry."

"Well, if you weren't too busy worrying about sneaking in your latest screw, then maybe Sara wouldn't have been taken by some freak that you've known about for the past few days and mentioned nothing to no one about! So, yeah, I'm a little pissed, if you can't tell."

"Hey, Griss, let's focus on finding Sara." Warrick put a calming hand on Grissom's shoulder and gave a short tug.

He let go of Charlie and walked out doing his best to keep his temper in check.

Nick sighed, "I'll take Greg and we'll print the window frame and check for any other evidence outside that window."

As Warrick nodded, Charlie just stood thinking it was his fault Sara was gone.

After Nick and Greg headed out, Warrick and Charlie continued to dig into Grant Andersen's past, hoping something would pop up to indicate where he had taken Sara.

--------------------------------------------

She'd fallen asleep a couple of times during their trip. Not something that she'd planned or wanted to do, but something Sara couldn't really help. The ketamine was still in her system and was having a continuing effect on her.

The first two times she'd woken up, the scenery around her still looked familiar. The third time she woke up, it was to Grant shaking her and nothing around them looked like any place that she knew of.

"Where- Grant, where are we?" she groaned.

Ignoring her question, he answered, "I figured you should wake up now or you'll never sleep tonight."

"How long did I sleep for? How long have we been driving?"

"Few hours." He shrugged. "There's a store a couple towns up from here. We'll need to stop there for a few things. Think you can behave?"

"I'll be fine in the car." She smiled.

"I'm sorry? In the car?"

"Uh, yeah."

"Yeah, that's not going to work, Sweetheart." He said with a shake of the head. "I take two steps from the car and you'd already be twenty yards away screaming something about Bigfoot, just to get the attention to say something about me. No way are you staying in the car alone."

She rolled her eyes at his statement and said nothing as they continued down the road.

True to his word, Grant had stopped at a store well into their voyage so they could do some shopping. Since he still wasn't too comfortable with leaving her by herself, regardless of how convincing she tried to be, he cut her remaining restraints and led her into the store with him.

Grant never said anything to her like you hear in the movies. No 'yell and I'll kill you' came from him. She figured it was probably something he assumed to be understood by her. And it was.

Sara held her tongue as they walked through the store, seeing an off duty cop buying paper towels and toothpaste. Grant had her push the cart, saying something about how it looked more proper to the crowd around them.

Sara had already gathered that Grant was more of a classic type of guy. The type of guy where the woman stays home to take care of the house and children, while he goes off to help the economy each day. Grant was the kind of guy where dinner is to be ready everyday when he returns to her and, if it is, he will handle everything else. Doors will be opened for her and chairs pulled out…all if she played her proper role for him.

Well, someone had better bust out Sara Sidle's trophy because she was determined to kick that acting job right in the ass.

"Grant?" she asked, as they turned down another aisle.

"Yeah, Sweetheart?"

"Where'd you say we were going?"

"I already told you. We're going to our new home." He smiled.

Holding back a gag at his sickly sweet grin, Sara said, "Well, yeah, but can I decorate or do I have to deal with plain walls?"

A little shocked at her sudden interest in something other than how to get the hell away from him, it took Grant a minute to answer. "Um…you um, you can paint if you want."

"Really? Well, I like greens. Are greens okay with you?"

"Uh, yeah. It's a cabin…in the woods. Not the biggest place, but its more than enough space for the two of us. You can decide what you'd like to do once you see it."

"Alright." She grinned knowing that Grant was easily duped by a sweet voice and smile. Acting was a heck of a lot easier than she'd thought it would be.

They continued through the store, grabbing things Grant said they would need because he hadn't had the time to stock the cabin before making his move on her. They turned down the isle containing feminine products and Sara just wanted to rip Grant's throat out and beat him with it. She didn't even have to grab anything, he did. Same brand she used and everything.

Freak.

Pushing down the serious urge to throw up, Sara smiled at him in thanks and followed him to the register. Helping to put things on the conveyor belt, Sara took note of the magazines and newspapers around her. Apparently, she'd slept a lot longer than Grant had let on because, according to the papers, they were in 'the best town just this side of the Oregon/Washington border.' Just where the hell was he taking her?

Back in his car, the one with temporary plates and tinted windows, Grant congratulated Sara on her first success in public. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek, one that Sara thought was going to cause her skin to fall off, and began to tie her hands back together.

"Grant…don't you think that's unnecessary?" she tried.

"I'm sorry?"

"Well, I _did_ behave in the store like I was supposed too. You have me in your car, Grant, and you'll be driving down the road. I don't really see me going anywhere, do you?"

"Sara, Sweetheart, I hope you forgive me for saying this, but I really don't know that I can fully trust you."

"And why is that? What have I done in our time together to make you think that I'm not trustworthy?"

"Well, constantly looking for ways to escape is a good start." He laughed and kept tying.

She tugged her hands away from him. "Grant, you listen to me. You may think I'm looking, but have I gone anywhere yet? No!"

"Sara, this is for my piece of mind. Stop it." He said with a heavy dose of indignation in his voice.

"Fine, tie me up and I'll just be in pain for the rest of the trip." She sighed, knowing full well that it would work.

"Y-you've been hurting this whole time and you never said anything? Why the hell not?!" he yelled.

Okay. Well, pissing him off wasn't part of the plan.

"The pain isn't that bad, it's more uncomfortable than anything. Don't worry about it. Just tie your little pet up and let's go already." She said, motioning to the road.

The look on his face let Sara know that she had hurt Grant when she said that. He stared at her for a moment, making Sara seriously wonder for a second if he was going to strike her, before he gave her a nod and took the restraints back off her.

He said nothing as they drove off.

Driving down the highway, Sara figured it was more dangerous than productive to turn in her seat and proceed with beating the holy shit out of Grant right then, so she kept her cool and continued to watch the signs.

"There you go again. Studying?" Grant asked with a chuckle a few minutes later.

"Excuse me?"

"You're watching all of the signs pretty intently. Know where we are?"

With a sigh, she answered, "You're either taking me to Silverton or to Gran-"

"Very good, Sweetheart." He cut in with praise.

"Silverton?" at his nod, she asked, "well, what's out there?"

"Home, nothing much other than that, really. It's secluded, but you'll like it. You're a woman that respects nature, and that's a good thing. Like I said, nothing really out there; just work and the cabin."

"Work? What do you do that you could just leave, go to Vegas and watch me for a couple weeks, snatch me up and just return like nothing happened?"

Grant started laughing. "Oh, Sara, that's good. I like that."

"What?"

"A couple weeks? You honestly think I've only been around you for a couple of weeks? No. No, no, that's all wrong. I've been trying to protect you from that man for a very long time now."

----------------------------------------------------------------

Grissom continued to sit in the semi darkness of his office as he thumbed through his copy of Grant's files. The man had no priors, not even a fucking parking ticket. His brain continued to churn; how could a man with no criminal history suddenly kidnap a person? Then again, what triggers serial killers?

He opened his top desk drawer to retrieve a bottle of pain reliever, but it was under a picture of Sara. God how he wanted to see her, hold her. Statistically, he knew the odds were against him of finding her alive, but he didn't want to think of Sara as someone to give up so easily.

"Hey."

Grissom shut the drawer and looked up to Warrick.

"Nick didn't find anything more at Sara's. The prints were Grant's. He went to Grant's apartment with Brass to search the place for anything that might give us a clue as to where he'd taken her. We've dug as far as we can into his past." Warrick gave him a sympathetic look before leaving him with his thoughts.

Grissom sighed and looked down. Warrick was right. Nothing, they had nothing to go on. In other words, 'they were up shit creek without a paddle.'

----------------------------------------------------------------------

Figuring out that you have someone following you down the street- kinda weird.

Figuring out that you have someone following you home- hey…now, that's just not normal, what's up with that guy?

Figuring out that you have someone following you around while you are at work- seriously now, what the hell is that guy's major malfunction?

Figuring out that you officially have a stalker- what the hell is up with that, you royally whacked freak?

Figuring out that have officially had that stalker for _way_ longer than you have ever realized, that the man has been watching you for God knows how long- that's just really not fucking cool at all, man!

Sara's mind was in complete overdrive now, and had been for the last half an hour. What did Grant mean by what he'd said?

'_I've been trying to protect you from that man for a very long time now'_ obviously means he's been around her for a lot longer than she'd been paying attention, but for how long? A couple more weeks, a couple more months…years now?

Stalkers don't generally wait around that long before they do anything to the stalkee. If Grant had been around her, watching her, seeing all the pain that Grissom had caused her before, then why hadn't he done anything before now?

Why had she _never_ noticed him before? He hadn't really tried to hide himself at the recent scenes. In fact, he was the most obvious thing about the entire scene they'd be at 90 percent of the time and that included the time the killer was still there…and had confessed…seven minutes into the interrogation.

It disgusted her. The thought of being watched already made her skin crawl, but now the thought of meltdowns, relationships, binges, nakedness, depression…everything everyone wishes to keep private, she thought _had_ been kept private by her walls…well, the thought of that all being unknowingly shared with a complete sicko just pissed her off.

So where was he and for how long had he been there?

"How long?" she asked through gritted teeth.

Either ignoring or just not noticing the obvious anger rolling off of her, Grant answered, "How long for what, sweetheart?"

"How god damn long have you been watching me?"

"Oh. Oh, well…I don't really remember now. A while. A long while, actually. Couple years?" he ended with a shrug.

Sara stared at him in complete disbelief. He just let it all roll off his tongue like it was nothing to him.

And it was nothing to him.

Watching Sara, presumably going through her garbage, following her around…it was all normal to him and he saw nothing wrong with it.

"Grant, how can you be so calm about it all?! This isn't normal! You kidnapped me! You _stole_ me!" she screamed.

"For one thing, the yelling…yeah, its not really helping. For another thing, you agreed to come. Sorry if you don't remember, I'll apologize again for that, but you did agree."

"Because you _drugged_ me!"

"Why so caught up on the details? Just focus on the now, Sara. We're going somewhere where you and I can be happy together. Think about it, really think about it. There's no one like your Doctor Grissom to drive you into your drinking fits, no one like that Catherine woman to frump around like she's still a damn stripper. That woman really needs to make up her mind, by the way. Are we a stripper, are we a criminalist? I don't get it." he laughed, trying to lighten the mood…and failing. "Sara," he sighed and took her hand with one of his. "Look, I know that this is going to be a huge transition for you, the scenery, the people, everything is going to be odd, but it _will_ be great. I promise you that."

"Grissom is a damn good man and Catherine never hurt anyone." was all that Sara said to Grant before she began to ignore him the rest of the way.

A few more hours later and Grant was driving down a shoddy gravel driveway that seemed to never end. Once it finally did, it ended at, as Grant had promised, a beautiful cabin completely surrounded by trees. She hadn't seen anything around them for quite a while before they'd turned onto the drive, so an escape would need to be planned to finest detail in order to get out without killing herself in the woods. She might love nature, but nature didn't love her back.

"Sara?" Grant called out.

"Hmm?"

"You were zoning out. Here's the key to the front. Get the door and I'll start getting the bags." He smiled.

A fake smile shot back to him and she obliged.

The cabin was great on the inside. Not the classic outdoorsman type, with giant heads on the wall of the latest kill, but much more like that of a regular home. She sighed, realizing that now he was expecting her to paint the damn walls and decorate like a good little Stepford wife, and moved throughout the home to inspect it further.

He was right; it _was_ just right for them.

Ew, no. Bad thought.

It was just right for two people.

And they were two people. That's all.

Her attention was called to Grant as he stumbled into the cabin with arms full of bags from the store. She really couldn't help but laugh at him as he was carrying way more than one person should. Yeah, he was creepy, but you'd be laughing if you'd seen him too.

"Thanks, I'll go get the rest." He said as she took the last of the bags he had.

She said nothing, just nodded and began putting things away.

By the time things were finally put away in the kitchen by Sara, Grant had everything he'd packed for the two of them clothes-wise, put away in the bedroom. A decently horrific thought came to Sara, as it had never really crossed her mind before, that he was expecting them to share a bed.

She was to be sharing a bed with him.

With Grant.

Her stalker.

The guy that knows about her tampons.

Whee.

"You hungry?" he asked, cutting her from her thoughts.

"Not anymore." She snorted.

"Um, yeah…okay. Well, I am, so…"

Taking the hint, Sara offered to make him something and he gladly accepted. Unfortunately, not having seen any rat poison when she stocked the kitchen, Sara made Grant a sandwich and gave him some chips, telling him that she was too tired to cook any actual food that night.

Giving an understanding kiss to her forehead, Grant thanked her for the food and ate it happily. In his mind, though she had her moments of regress, he and Sara we getting along rather well. The moments were expected to happen and he was honestly surprised that they weren't happening more often than what they were.

"Well, Sweetheart, its kind of late." he said, as he finished with his food.

"Yeah." She answered quietly, taking his plate to the sink.

"Are you going to shower now or in the morning?"

"I think I'll wait till morning."

"Then I'll take one now. No sense in fighting over the hot water." He laughed.

She gave a slight smile though she felt a little sick to her stomach. She wanted to give the man no reason at all to touch her and if he knew she was feeling off, he'd be at her side in an instant.

They both went into the bedroom; Grant grabbed his clothes and headed off for the bathroom. Sara made sure he was in the shower before changing into her clothes as quickly as she could. She climbed into bed, covering herself all the way to her chin, and stayed as close to the edge as was possible without falling off of it.

Twenty or so minutes later, Grant made his way back into the room and threw his clothes into the hamper. He stopped at his side of the bed and smiled down at her. "How are you not hot under all those blankets?"

"I'm freezing." She lied. "I could even go for more blankets. Bigger, heavier blankets."

He climbed into bed and scooted next to her and, though she had nowhere to go, she tried to scoot more away from him.

"Sara, I'm not going to take advantage of you. I'm not that type of a guy."

"An all around good guy?"

"Yes."

"Stalk me, conspire to kill my boyfriend, drug me, tie me up, kidnap me, and drag me out to the middle of nowhere…but you won't fucking rape me in the middle of the night, so you're trustworthy now? Yeah, let's go with that." She snapped.

Grant sighed, "Sara, I don't know what its going to take to make you realize that I've done nothing but things that are to better your situation. Everything that I have done has been to help you."

"Grant, taking me from the people I love should hardly be seen as helpful. Please go over to your own side of our bed before I do something that I guarantee I won't regret."

Grant did as she asked and turned off the lights. In doing so, his small smile was hidden.

She'd called it their bed.

----------------------------------------------------

It was boring- ungodly boring.

It was more boring than listening to Ecklie drone on and on about why it was his parking spot in front of the lab and no one else's.

She'd been laying in bed for well over three hours, wide-awake, listening to Grant sleep. She was studying him.

Mentally categorizing every noise and motion he made while he slept and while he dreamt. Taking note of it all when she'd move in the bed, whether the move be subtle or the move be like that of an elephant in an elevator.

She'd cleared her throat a couple times and he'd let out a snort. He'd be in sort of a half awake type state and she'd still up for long enough to allow him to get fully back to sleep.

Even though she had no clue where they were in Silverton, she at least knew that much. She also knew where Grant had placed the keys to the car.

He let out a good sized snore and she figured her moment was just right. She slid out of bed and out of the bedroom, being as quiet as possible. If Grant wasn't dead by the time Grissom got done with him, she'd have to ask where he got the rugs because they were excellent noise absorbers.

Making her way to the front door, she slid her shoes on and grabbed the keys off the hook, making sure to quiet their jangle.

Unlocking the handle, she tried to open the door but couldn't. Grant had a deadbolt set on it. She wasn't going anywhere…

…through the door.

Putting the keys in her pocket, she hurried to the nearest window. Surprisingly enough, there wasn't a lock set on it. She smiled to herself and began to raise it. When it only raised four inches up before sticking, she got pissed. He'd hammered nails into it so it would go any higher.

She sighed, as a tear ran down her face, and leaned her head against the glass.

"So, is this going to be an every night thing? If it is, I'd like to know. Get my sleep schedule wrapped around it, you know." Grant said, as he made his way into the room.

She slumped down to the floor, crying and said, "Why are you doing this? Why is it me? I never did anything to you, you son of a bitch!"

He mad his way over to her and knelt down, holding one hand out for her to take. "Name calling never really helped anybody. You ready for bed now?"

She nodded and told him she hated him as she took his hand and walked back to the bedroom.

* * *

Yeah, he's still really creepy. 

Let us know how you feel about the creep factor (and your ideas) when you review. Reviews are important because they stop us from giving this story up.

Absit invidia (it will stop being confusing eventually) 


	11. Chapter 11

Okay, so it's been like forever since this was updated, but I'll bring you up to speed. Sara's gay friend got between her and Grissom, and while they were on the fits, she was being stalked by super creepy stalker guy. After things cooled down between her and Grissom, she was abducted by super creepy stalker guy. Now he's got her in a van down by the river, not really but its close.

* * *

What Goes Around

Catherine rounded the corner and looked straight down the hall into the dark office. She was hesitant but decided to enter. Without knocking she approached the desk and decided to keep the conversation light, for as long as she could. "Whatcha got there?"

Grissom looked up at her over his glasses. His eyes were sunken, his face looked as if he had aged ten years, and his beard was messy and un-kept. "Did you know, that this Grant character didn't exist up until five years ago? Where did he come from? More importantly, where did he take Sara?"

"Gil…" Catherine sat heavily in a chair. "You know that after that initial twenty four hour window…"

"She's not dead!" He slammed both fists on his desk breaking his pen in the process.

"And I'm not saying she is." Somehow she managed to keep her voice low, trying to soothe the hurt from her friend. "All I'm saying is that it's been weeks Gil. That lunatic could have taken her anywhere. She could be in another country. Maybe he's got her stashed in some rickety cabin in the woods, I don't know. But how much longer are you going to sit here and torment yourself looking over the same file day in and day out?" He sighed, removed his glasses, and rubbed his hands over his tired face. "Look…" Catherine reached out to place a comforting hand on his arm. "I'm not saying to completely forget about her, but don't you think it would help if you didn't look at that big ass file for a little while. Just take a break, come hand out assignments, visit with the guys, help process evidence."

Grissom scoffed. "I guess I haven't really been working, have I?" Catherine shook her head. He took in a large gasp of air and held it until his lungs burned with the need for oxygen. "I'll never stop until I find her."

---

One month had passed by them and still no one had come for her. She didn't mind it, though. She didn't think about it now. Now Sara had Grant.

Over the last month, Grant had come to realize that things weren't too bad anymore. Sara wasn't speaking to him only through her teeth. She wasn't exactly cuddling up to him at night, but she wasn't spending the night so close to the edge of the bed that she was awake for most of it, trying not to fall off so that she didn't have to be close to him. She wasn't constantly eyeing every possible exit when they'd go out together. Maybe Sara was still plotting…but if she was, she wasn't as obvious as before.

A change in Sara that he took very much delight in was the fact that he no longer had to drop hints around her about what appropriate behavior was. Sara had learned her proper role in no time at all.

Today was such an occasion for her to showcase that very role. Today was a day for grocery shopping and a couple stops at other stores in town. Grant needed to fix a couple loose boards on the porch before Sara finally drove him batty with her nagging about them, and Sara wanted to try her hand at fixing some buttons on a work shirt of Grant's so that he didn't have to just throw it out.

Being of a decent intelligence, they opted to wait and shop for the groceries last so that they wouldn't spoil in the car while they went about their other business.

Heading into the store that harbored everything Grant would need to carry out his deeds at home; Sara instantly became bored with the situation. Back in Vegas, back with Grissom, she probably would have found a good ninety percent of everything around them interesting as she helped Grissom shop for it…but now she didn't even have a thought of that man in her head. Her new role was basically as a goddamn Stepford wife and she just meandered through the store, behind her new man, with thoughts of 'was it blue or white thread that I needed?' going through her head.

Grant stood in front of the selection of nails and screws and considered his options for a bit while Sara looked around behind them. The store had a display set up with a swing set and a little swimming pool. There was a big ass barbeque and fake grass with pink flamingoes stunk randomly in it. You couldn't help but notice the cardboard cutout family that was scattered around the porch swing, dining set and the lounge chairs that all came from the same set. It was nice…in a 'Leave it to Beaver' sort of way.

Letting out a massive sigh of boredom to let Grant know that she was leaving his side, Sara headed over to the porch swing. The color was nearly hideous, but the style was nice. She took a seat next to the cardboard mother and smoothed out the dress she was wearing. Never really the biggest fan of wearing them before, she was getting used to it now. After all, it is what Grant likes. Grant had given her the one she had on for her birthday. She'd mentioned the fact that her birthday was last month, but he had a point in the fact that he wasn't exactly able to give it to her then.

Grant was filling a bag with screws, but he was keeping his eyes on Sara. God, she was beautiful. All she was doing was sitting there, and you could tell that. She wasn't looking for the best person to ask for help. She wasn't looking for the best route to run. She was just sitting there because she hated going in there with him to be bored the whole time he shopped for things. She wasn't going anywhere.

He smiled and made his way over to her. "Hey. This isn't exactly your color." He joked.

She blinked a couple of times, shifting her mind from her thoughts to Grant, and smiled back. "Well, I like the pattern…but, yeah, the whole 'blood red' deal really isn't working out for me."

"They do have green ones, you know." He suggested.

"Y-you'll buy me one?" she asked, obviously surprised. It's not like there was any special occasion he'd be buying it for.

"Of course. You deserve it, don't you?" he laughed and offered her a hand up from the swing.

Her smile grew bigger as she took his hand and hopped up, knocking over the lady Cleaver. Giving him a quick kiss on his cheek, she turned her attention from Grant to a worker nearby. Her dress swooshing around her knees as she hurried to the man in excitement, Sara couldn't wait to pick out her new swing. She couldn't wait to get it back to the cabin for Grant to put it together. Maybe he'd even have enough time to do it that day after he fixed the porch.

Grant rolled his eyes as Sara nearly begged for the little side tables to go along with it. In the end, she got them. He was a little embarrassed at the shriek and hug he received, but he accepted them all the same. Why she was so excited about a porch swing and a couple of side tables, he didn't understand, but if he could keep her that happy all the time, he'd be more than willing to.

After Grant paid for everything, he and the clerk got the kits for the swing and tables loaded, quite awkwardly, into the car. He handed the man his tip and helped Sara into the car, proud of the smile he'd helped to place on her face.

Getting into the car himself, he turned to Sara as he started the car. "You want to just go to Wal-Mart? I just thought of a couple more things I need and we can get your thread there instead of going to that overpriced specialty store."

"Sure. It cuts down on a few stops, but we still have to go to the grocery store."

"Okay." He nodded and drove off.

-----

Just as he'd expected, Wal-Mart was a good idea. Sure, it was a little packed, but it was nice to get out and see so many people…especially with Sara on his arm.

Walking in to the store, Sara had her right arm looped through Grant's left as her purse occupied her other arm. Grant muttered, "just little things," and opted for a basket instead of a cart.

They really just wandered around the store, saying hello to those they knew, grabbing the few things they'd come in for and a couple extra things they hadn't thought of as they passed them.

When they got to the craft section, Sara grabbed a bobbin of white thread, but Grant said it should be blue.

Sara shook her head. "Grant, I know what I'm talking about. It's white." She said and tossed the thread in the basket.

He took the thread out and replaced it with a spool of blue thread. "Honey, I've been wearing that shirt for two years. The thread is blue, I'm sure."

"I checked before we left the house." She said, holding up the white.

"It's a blue shirt with blue buttons. Why would they use white thread?"

"Because it's a conspiracy." She joked, still trying to get Grant to take the white thread back.

"I'm telling you, it's blue." He insisted.

She rolled her eyes. "_Fine_. It's blue. Let's just go, I'm starving."

He laughed and offered his arm to her. She hooked hers through his and they headed towards the registers.

On the way, Sara reminded Grant of yet another thing he'd forgotten they'd needed around that cabin. Heading over to get said item, they passed a man wearing the same shirt Sara was going to be fixing when they got back home. A blue shirt with blue buttons attached to it…by white thread.

Giving Grant a knowing smile, Sara let go of his arm, grabbed the blue thread from the basket, and turned down an aisle behind him. Before she got more than five steps from him, he hurried up behind her and said, "Wait, where are you going?" in a worried tone.

Confused at his voice, she answered, "To get the right thread."

"I'll go with you." He smiled oddly and put his hand on her arm to escort her.

"Grant, I'm capable of getting thread, you know." She laughed as he walked with her around people and displays.

"Well, yeah but-"

She stopped and his hand fell free of her arm. "Grant, stop. What are you doing? Go get what you need, I'll be fine on my own."

'On my own.'

This was not something Grant was comfortable with. Yes, she was behaving much better as of late, but how was he to know what was genuine and what was an act? Sara wandering off to get thread by herself while he was a good ten aisles away was most certainly not something he was comfortable with. And if he was to return to her without the item he was sent after, then she'd know he was watching her and he'd be questioned.

With Sara pushing memories of Vegas out of her mind and replacing them with Grant, questions of his behavior could prove troublesome, especially if he let the wrong answer to it slip.

"Sara, honey, I just want to walk with you." He shrugged.

A schoolgirl smile found its way to her face. "I'm not going anywhere." She joked, not realizing the seriousness of her words. "I'll get the thread and be right back here in a heartbeat. Now hurry up, I don't like waiting." She laughed and headed off.

He wrestled with himself. He wanted to follow her, wanted to watch her every move through the crowd around her, but he couldn't. She'd know and she'd question.

Grant hurried over and grabbed what he needed, making it back to where he and Sara had separated before she did. This made him worry more because he didn't see her face anywhere among those around.

He knew it. He knew it was coming and he'd let it happen. Sara had only been his for a month before she'd gotten away from him. She'd played him and he'd fallen for it.

But she couldn't get out of town that fast. They'd only gone out of town twice since she'd been there, and they'd taken a different way both times so it's not like she had the way out memorized. She should be easy to find.

He made his way to the craft section to ask anyone if they'd seen where she'd gone, but he didn't have to. When he got there, he saw Sara. She was chatting up the old lady that worked in there.

She wasn't halfway across state lines, screaming her head off about the lunatic that kidnapped her. She wasn't at a phone booth calling Grissom to tell him all the horrid things she had to say to Grant just to get through her day. Sara was still there. Sara was still his.

Calming himself down as he walked over to her, he put his hand on her back and jokingly asked, "What's all this business about hurrying?"

"Oh, crap, sorry." She laughed. "This is Jean. Jean, this is my boyfriend, Grant." She said and motioned between the two. "Jean dropped some stuff and I helped her pick it up. I just got caught up in talking to her, I guess. Oh, and I grabbed some needles. Can't really sew without them."

Grant shook Jean's hand and gracefully avoided questions from her about when he was going to make an honest woman out of Sara. He excused the both of them, explaining their schedule, and they made their way toward the register again.

Having to skip an aisle due to a paint spill, they headed near _that_ aisle. Grant asked Sara if she needed anything while they were there. She thought for a second before she shrugged and said, "Nope. I'm good."

A curious look found its way to his face. "Oh…well, it's the middle of the month. You sure?"

"Uh, yeah, I'm pretty sure I'd know." She laughed and kept walking.

-----

The rest of the day included two more stops, including the grocery store. With a bit more protest from Grant, Sara had once more headed off on her own to gather things for a special dinner that he was to know nothing about.

Throughout the day, Sara would throw a smart-alecky 'I told ya so' in Grant's direction and he would ignore it. Well, she thought he was. He was actually adding them up for later revenge. By the time they'd pulled up to their mailbox, Sara was at 24.

After the long trip down the drive, Grant parked and everything was taken inside and put away. Sara got right to work on dinner and Grant changed clothes to go work on the porch.

Before he headed outside, he snuck up behind Sara in the kitchen, trying to catch a glimpse at what she was making for the two of them. She busted him and shoved him out the front door, practically demanding that the porch be fixed with ample time left over for her swing and tables to be put together by the end of the day.

Grant laughed and went about fixing the porch while Sara fixed their supper. It didn't take him long since there were only a few boards loose, so he'd already gotten one table put together by the time Sara called him inside.

"Is it ready?" he asked.

"By the time you get out of the shower, it will be." She said as she continued setting the table for the two of them.

Grant gave her a quick kiss and she protested when she smelled the sweat on him. He laughed and stole another kiss before he went to take his shower.

He kept his shower short and when he got back out into the dining room, Sara was finishing up the plates. She'd made spinach enchiladas, one of his favorites, to thank him for the swing.

Conversation was light and they ate at a decent speed so they could get outside and get at least the swing together before dark.

It took a couple of tries because some people refused to read the instruction manual before they attempted to put the thing together. Eventually their goal was accomplished and for a few hours they stayed on the porch, swinging gently as they snuggled together against the slight chill in the air.

When Sara yawned, Grant suggested they go to bed. Sara was more than happy to agree, deciding that she'd take a shower in the morning. Leaving the dishes behind as well, they locked up the cabin and changed into their nightclothes. As usual, Grant finished in the bathroom first and climbed into bed. When Sara climbed into bed a few minutes later, she laid next to him, putting her arm across his chest and her head on his shoulder. To say that Grant was little surprised was like saying the ocean is damp.

He turned his head, placing a soft kiss into her hair. Sara shifted and looked up at him. Grant smiled before he inched closer to her, each time waiting for her to put the brakes on his progression, but she never said a thing. He moved so that his lips gently touched hers. For a moment it was just a soft touch, and then he moved further and even further yet, until they were kissing each other fully. Sara let a small moan escape her and Grant reacted by pushing her on her back.

Sara's arms wrapped around him, making sure the contact wasn't broken. She let him take the lead as things began to get heated.

* * *

Rut-ro Shaggy.

I know it's been a while, but it's like riding a bycicle, you never forget; so review.

thegreatTDCSI


	12. Chapter 12

Okay, wow this has been what…2 years since last updated. Well I've been getting requests to finish what has been started and abandoned. As some of you may know, thespoon is no longer writing, or reading as a matter of fact. But I have a friend that was willing to step up and shoot ideas at me. She doesn't play the same roll that Jess did but in order for this to finally come to a conclusion, I needed motivation. So, thanks to Jersey for once again being my motivation.

I am continuing this solo so don't expect any spoon-isms. You may have to re-read the previous chapters, hell I had to. So, enjoy.

* * *

What Goes Around

Chapter 12 (at last)

Grissom stood in the near empty living room, and slowly slipped another book into the box. Deep down he knew Sara was still out there, waiting for him to find her.

"Hey." He turned to look at Catherine. "Greg's packing up the kitchen; the only thing left to go through is her bedroom."

"I'll…um…get it."

He sulked down the small hall and entered Sara's sanctuary. His eyes moved over the room, taking in every minute detail, and storing it to memory. Grissom sat on the bed and thought of how many times they had shared and confessed their love for each other. He sighed; it was how he fought back the threatening tears.

After recollecting several memories, Grissom stood and moved to the closet. He was able to remain calm as he carefully removed each hanging garment. Without a second thought he began placing the items in separate piles. One pile contained all of the clothes that were obviously worn to work, while the other was deemed worthy of special occasions.

Catherine stood silently at the door and watched her friend as he took his time packing away all that remained of Sara Sidle. She knew he was not willing to give up, and she was proud of him for doing so. But there has to come a point in time where a line has to be drawn.

For the past 2 months he has been paying the rent and utilities on a vacant apartment. At first Catherine thought against it, but Grissom fought her tooth and nail to keep Sara's place ready for her return. As time went past, with still no trace of Sara or Grant anywhere in the United States, Grissom began to give up hope.

"I'm not ready to let go of her yet, Cath." His voice was defeated. Same as it has been the past month.

Catherine crossed the room and stopped him. "Gil, I'm not saying to forget her or give up looking. It's just that there is no reason to be paying out all of this money on an empty place. We'll put her things in storage, and when we find her, she'll be more than ready to live with you."

Grissom sat on the bed and put his head in his hands. Reality of the situation finally setting in. "She's gone." He took several staggered breaths, seeking the strength he needed to say what he would have told any other family that had a member taken.

Grissom looked up at Catherine, his eyes were clouded. "She's gone, and she's more than likely lying dead in a ditch somewhere, so you're right, Cath. It's over, Sara's never coming back." He pushed past her and slammed the front door on his way out.

Her face turned to shock at his admission. She wasn't thinking like that, but she knew statistically he was right. Sara was probably dead, and now, he was alone.

* * *

Grant sat on the porch swing as the morning sun shined through the lining of trees. He began thinking if he could raise another man's child as his own. It took some time to convince Sara that she her period was late, but she eventually agreed to take a pregnancy test.

Together they went to town just for one item. Now he was thinking about the future. Everything was meticulously planned up until this point. He had been watching her every move, learning her habits, likes, and dislikes. Read every book and article he could on Stockholm's Syndrome and even wondered if it was real. After she let him make love to her, he was convinced that it was indeed real.

The front door creaked and Sara emerged with a blank look on her face. Grant stood and took her hands in his. "Well…"

Her eyes connected with his. Words were lost and all she could do was nod. They both glanced down to her still flat stomach, before embracing. Grant could feel her chest rumble. "I'm pregnant." Sara whispered into his shoulder.

He held her tighter. "We're going to have a baby together."

After a moment, Sara pushed away from him. "I want to spend the day down by the lake."

Grant smiled. "Whatever you wish my dear."

Sara packed a basket of sandwiches and snacks while Grant gathered his fishing supplies. They walked hand in hand several hundred yards down to the blue lake. The summer day was cool, but Sara still spread out her towel and laid down in her swimsuit to let the sun warm her skin. Grant tossed his line into the water and glanced back at her. She smiled and gave a short wave back.

She closed her eyes and got comfortable. The sun bathed her body in warmth and Sara drifted asleep. Her body was at ease but her mind was racing. Visions flashed of her and Grant. Then another man appeared in his place. For some reason she wasn't fighting him as he settled on top of her. She could feel his weight but he kept most of it on his arms. He was clean shaven with hints of gray in his hair. Her arms wrapped around his neck as his lips grazed hers.

Grant continued glancing back as he fished and noticed her body tremble. Curious he abandoned his pole and moved to kneed next to Sara. Her skin flushed and her muscles trembled. She was obviously asleep, so he decided to wait and let her dream continue before waking her.

Sara recognized the man and groaned as she felt him enter her. Her body relaxed as he made love to her. She was enjoying the dream while her mind was digging back into past memories.

While Grant was enjoying watching her, he decided to wake her when she began to moan and whither. He placed a hand on her shoulder and gave her a gentle shake. "Sara, honey…wake up."

She woke with a start and looked up to Grant. For a moment panic took over her at the man she didn't recognize. She scooted away from him as the memories of Grissom remained fresh.

"Sara, it's okay…it's me." Grant tried to calm her down. Sara took several heavy breaths before he was able to get her to still. "You were dreaming."

"Yeah." She huffed out of breath from the anxiety.

Grant smiled. "I hope it was about me." She could only grin back. "I'm hungry and the fish aren't biting. Ready to break out the food?" Sara nodded and they ate peacefully next to the lake.

They walked back to the cabin hand in hand and engulfed in silence. Grant decided he needed to do something special. "Get cleaned up when we get back to the cabin. I think a celebration is in order."

Sara was confused. "For what?"

He wrapped his arm around her. "To celebrate the new life we created. I think a fabulous dinner is on the menu."

* * *

Catherine headed up the packing and cleaning of Sara's apartment. She was able to set up a long term lease at a storage facility. She knew what Grissom had said in the apartment he didn't really mean, but his actions around the lab stated that he did mean it.

They were all huddled in the break room waiting for him to pass out assignments. Everyone was afraid to talk about Sara's disappearance around Grissom, let alone, even bring up her name. He was quick to snap at anyone who did so, and if he caught you, you were destined to get the decomp of the night. To Grissom, Sara was dead and gone.

After another cold meeting with his team, Grissom once again retreated to his office. He sat down behind his desk and looked around his sanctuary. It was a routine, if anything reminded him of Sara, he would toss it. Her abduction file was locked away, all of her pictures he kept in his office were gone, even the pictures at his house. Grissom had gone as far as giving up the dog that Sara had rescued; he was now Lindsey's.

Grissom was back to just the way things were before he and Sara began their relationship; a cold hearted workaholic.

The only major thing he couldn't get rid of was the lab. Every time he walked through the front doors, he thought of her. It was her place of employment as well. He sat back and began to let his mind run over several scenarios. He could get rid of the lab; he would put in for early retirement, pack all of his belongings up, and move. It was that simple.

He thumbed through his rolodex until he found the number for the travel agent he had used several times when planning seminars. Grissom never took his eyes off of the small card and blindly reached for the phone. Just before he picked up the receiver, it rang.

Grissom nearly jumped out of his skin as he watched the phone ring beneath his hand. It took him a moment to shake it off before he picked it up. "Grissom."

"Hey, Gil." He narrowed his eyes as he tried to put a face to the voice. "Remember me? Alexander Von Boyer, we met several years ago at the entomological conference in Salt Lake City, and you had a colleague with you…what was her name…brunette, legs a mile long…"

"Sara." God how he hated saying her name.

"Yeah that's it, Sara. You know one would have guessed back then you two were an item."

"What can I do for you Doctor Von Boyer?" Grissom rudely interrupted.

The voice on the other end was taken aback by his tone of voice. "Oh, I'm sorry Gil; did things not work out between the two of you?"

Grissom sighed. "She's dead."

"What?"

"She was abducted several months ago, we never found her body."

"Then it can't be her."

Grissom's heart stopped beating. "Her? Who's her?" He sat straight up in his chair as he hung on the next words to come.

"Sara. I swear she just sat next to me at a restaurant here in Seattle. She was dining with another man. I'm sorry; I didn't know what had happened."

He nearly dropped the phone in shock. Sara was still alive. Grissom quickly scrambled for his keys. "Could you hold on one minute Alex?"

"Sure."

Grissom set the phone down and headed for the evidence locker. He flew though the glass halls, and in his urgency, was glad to see people clearing a path for him. Feverishly he unlocked the door and pulled out the box labeled, 'Sidle, Sara'. He pulled a folder out of the box, and ran back to his office.

Out of breath he began. "Alex, can you describe this man she was with to me?"

"Oookay." He was confused as he began describing the couple he had seen in the restaurant.

Grissom looked at a photo of Grant as the description pierced his ear. There was no mistaking it, Dr. Von Boyer had indeed seen Sara with Grant, but what Grissom couldn't get his mind wrapped around, was why Sara wasn't trying to get away from her captor.

"Thank you Alex. You may have just blown this case wide open." Without waiting for any reply, Grissom hung up and went to find Catherine.

He was rejuvenated with hope, Sara was alive, and in Seattle.

* * *

Well, I hope it was to everyone's satisfaction. Please review so I know people are still reading this after all this time. Otherwise I just may scrap the whole thing.

TDCSI


	13. Chapter 13

Okay, wow super fast update. But I didn't want to keep some of you waiting. Even tho you've already waited 2 years for this to continue. As you can tell, this isn't betaed, so if you want to nit-pick my grammar, suck it. I don't care.

Again, thanks to Jersey for the moral support and crazy ass ideas. She's pitching them, and I'm either using them or shooting them down with a 50 cal.

* * *

What Goes Around

Chapter 13

Grissom was overzealous with joy as he raced towards the break room. I was very early, and the shift had not officially started, but everyone was gathered as usual. He stormed in out of breath from the anxiety. Catherine was at his side in a matter of seconds as he tried to catch enough air to speak. "Sara…"

"Sara? What about Sara?" She asked gently as the others gathered around him.

"She's…she's alive." Grissom managed to stand straight and put his hands on his hips for support. "She's in Seattle. I just got a call from an associate. He saw her at a restaurant." Everyone's faces turned to shock as he gave them a slight overview of what he knew. "Cath, you're in charge, I have to go and get her."

His eyes filled with desperation and she smiled. "We'll be here waiting for her to come home." The boys all nodded at Grissom and he quickly made himself scarce.

Grissom was quick to sit behind his desk and log onto his computer. His hands were going faster than the laptop could think and he was getting agitated. "Come on dammit!" He was quickly booking a flight when a loud knock interrupted him.

Without hesitation, Brass walked in and stood beside Grissom's desk. "So I hear you're going to Seattle without backup." Grissom didn't speak but just glared at the man standing next to him. His eyes returned to the screen and his fingers clicked the mouse several times. The final click engaged the printer behind him.

Grissom spun in his chair and picked up the piece of paper letting his eyes scan over it real quick. "Our flight leaves in two hours."

"How long in the air?" Brass quickly responded.

"Two and a half hours." Grissom's eyes locked with his friends. For a moment they seemed to speak silently before Brass quickly left the room and Grissom began scraping around his desk. He made sure he had the case file and some other items before locking his office and leaving.

Grissom burst through the door of his cold home. He quickly packed several changes of clothes and small items before leaving, hoping that upon his return it would become warm again with Sara's presence.

Brass was waiting at the terminal when Grissom showed up. All he did was place a confident hand on his friends shoulder and smile.

* * *

Sara enjoyed her meal at the restaurant. Grant on the other hand was constantly watching the man sitting at the table next to them. He didn't like how he was glancing and even staring at Sara. She would only smile at the man when she caught him looking at her. Something in her mind kept telling her that she had seen him before. She pushed the thought back and kept eating.

Grant was quick to pay their bill and leave with Sara. He never spoke a word as they made the trek back to their home. When driving within means the drive was two hours to the cabin, Grant made it in one and a half.

Sara knew he was agitated and decided it was best just to remain silent. She busied herself in the kitchen while Grant blew off some steam outside. After a bit of tidying up, she decided to go to bed alone. Sara changed and climbed under the covers. Her eyes glancing at the clock, burning the glowing numbers to memory before drifting off to sleep.

* * *

Once their plane touched down, Grissom and Brass quickly gathered their things and arranged a rental car. Brass used the GPS to guide him to the restaurant where Sara had been seen.

He stopped the car in front of the dark building. "Well, I guess we'll have to come back when they open." Their eyes fixed on the darkened building. "You know, not everyone is open twenty-four hours."

Grissom's jaw clenched as Brass pulled away. They checked into a small motel but neither of them slept. Grissom glared at the picture he had of Grant. His blood boiled as he thought of what he could be doing to Sara.

The next morning Grissom and Brass grabbed a quick to go breakfast and sat in front of the restaurant. Brass knew that the likely hood of anyone remembering Sara was a slim to none shot, but he was a loyal friend and knew Grissom needed his help.

"So, what are you going to do if we find them?" Brass inquired.

"Kill him." Grissom said simply.

"Gil…"

"Jim, I want justice for what he did. He screwed up my life!" His voice boomed in the car.

Brass suspected there was a thing going on, but didn't know for sure. "How long?"

It was a simple question and could have meant anything, but Grissom knew exactly what it was directed towards. He sighed and decided that his closest friend deserved to know the truth. "It started after we found Nick." The grin that crossed Brass' face didn't get pass him.

Grissom continued to talk about how he started his courtship with Sara and when they both made the choice to live together. As he listened to the story, Brass began to truly understand why his friend was so distraught after Sara's abduction.

By the time Grissom was done, he felt better getting so much off of his chest and being able to talk about Sara and when they were happy again. He released a large breath of air when he noticed people unlocking the doors. They both climbed out and headed for the group of people.

"Excuse me, I'm Detective Brass and this is Gil Grissom, Las Vegas Police." Brass started. "We need to ask you a few questions about some patrons that were here last night."

Two of the men looked at each other in shock while a woman simply stated, "I'm sorry, we only work the lunch crowd. But if you would like to wait inside, the owner will be here in a few hours. She was here all night and maybe she can give you what you need."

They had no choice but to accept the offer. This was the last place Sara had been seen, and they couldn't abandon it even as the trail grew cold the longer they waited. After sitting in the lounge area for several hours, a lady entered that Brass could only presume as the owner.

He introduced them and Grissom passed the photos of Sara and Grant. "Do you recognize these people? They were having dinner here last night."

She took the pictures and glanced over the glossy photos. The lady pursed her lips. "I did remember seeing them, but I don't know who they are."

The door opened and people entered. "Hey Janice." They waved.

"Jordan, could you come here for a moment?" They waited as the others approached. "Do you know these people?"

One quick glance at the pictures and she nodded. "The girl no, the guy yes."

"His name is Grant Anderson." Grissom quickly added.

"Grant, yes. Anderson…" She laughed. "His last name is Turner. We grew up together. Why are you looking for him?"

"The woman he's with was kidnapped several months ago from Las Vegas." Brass informed them.

"I always knew he was a jerk." The man with Jordan added.

"Oh, Jon shut up will ya." She passed the pictures back. "We're the only law in Silverton. Not much happens out there, tourists and local folk. Grant's got a cabin out there that his Uncle owns, but he's been living there since I can remember."

Grissom's eyes lit up. He was getting closer to Sara by the second and his heart was beginning to race. "Can you take us there?"

Jordan smiled. "Sure, but after we have our weekly brunch."

Brass and Grissom were forced to wait, but didn't hide their urgency. After the two officers had their fill, Grissom and Brass were finally back on the trail. They followed the white police Expedition for the two hour drive. Grissom was antsy the entire trip, but eventually they made it to the small town.

They all entered the small police station that reminded Grissom of something that was straight out of a John Wayne movie. The front was the office with several desks and chairs. Towards the back were three jail cells that looked as if they hadn't seen a visitor in years.

After the quick once over he decided to get straight to business. "Okay, so where's this cabin at?"

Jordan leaned back in her chair as did her second in command. They glanced at each other and shrugged. "I honestly don't know. He comes into town on occasion."

"Yeah, haven't seen him in a few days, he's about due in." Jon added.

Brass and Grissom were not pleased with the knowledge of the local law enforcement. "I've never seen such piss poor police officers in my life!" Grissom's rage had finally boiled over. "A criminal has been up here for two months with a kidnap victim and you don't know where he lives?!" He began to pace. "Supposedly you know him and don't have a fucking clue as to what he's been up to!"

Jordan stood. "Now look here, we're a peaceful town and the only thing we have to worry about is a few tourists getting lost in the woods. Everyone here looks out for their neighbor, and Grant has done nothing to raise any suspicion to being a threat."

"No, cause you don't know where he lives!" Grissom screamed.

"Gil…" Brass made a futile attempt to calm his friend.

"You need to get your facts straight. If you're so high tech, why can't you even get the man's last name right? Don't come up here criticizing me on my lack of information, when you can't even get your own shit straight!" She wasn't about to let out of state city cops tell her how to do her job. "You want to get him, go hang out in the diner tomorrow and fifty dollars says you'll see him drive by."

Grissom stopped pacing but his chest was still heaving. Brass watched as he attempted to get a grip on his emotions. "You're right, I apologize."

Jordan grinned. "Don't worry about it." They all paused and thought over the situation. "Look, it's Sunday afternoon. Grant is almost guaranteed to come into town tomorrow. Get a room down at the inn, tell Donna I sent you and she'll hook you up. I'll meet you in the diner for breakfast and you can buy cause I'm gonna get my fifty bucks."

Grissom narrowed his eyes at her. "Okay, and then after we spot him, what do you sugest?"

Jordan shrugged. "Hell if I know. I'm just excited that we'll be able to actually do something other than drink coffee all day."

Brass shook his head. "We can't blow this and have him kill Sara on a whim thinking he's about to get caught. We've done things like this many times, so why don't Gil and I take lead and when we need your help, we'll ask?"

Jon again shrugged at Jordan, leaving the decision up to her. "Why not?" She held out her hand which Brass shook.

After departing, they settled into the small motel room. Brass turned on the television while Grissom decided to work. He was on the phone in seconds.

"Catherine, we were wrong. His last name is Turner. Look up a Grant Turner from…" he looked around the room. "where the hell are we Jim?"

"Silverton."

"Silverton, Washington." Grissom waited patiently as Catherine began her search.

"Okay, not getting much." Catherine started as her eyes scanned quickly over what she had found. "Wait…this sounds interesting." She didn't wait for a reaction from Grissom and kept reading. "When Grant's parents died, it was discovered that his mother was reported missing from St. Louis in 1952. She was kidnapped at the age of twenty three. She was never found until her death."

"How did they die?" Grissom interrupted.

"Ummm…car accident." Catherine reported. "Statements here say that she was in love with her husband and no one ever suspected that she was kidnapped. Right now Grant's uncle is serving time for the kidnapping, rape, and murder of a Seattle woman."

"Keeping it all in the family." He stated. "Cath, she's here." Grissom let his voice soften as he spoke.

"I'm sure you'll find her Gil." Catherine offered her support. She heard him sigh and hang up the phone. After folding her hands, Catherine sighed and hoped Grissom was right.

* * *

OMG, OMG, OMG!! He's so close to finding her.

The more reviews I get, the sooner he'll find her. If I hardly get any, he just might discover a corpse. Muah-hahahaha

TDCSI


	14. Chapter 14

Okay, I'm cranking these out at an insane pace. Major kudos to Jersey, without her giving me some of the strangest ideas I've ever heard, I wouldn't be writing this fast.

* * *

What Goes Around

Chapter 14

Grissom didn't sleep much that night, and his face showed it clearly. His beard was beginning to thicken with the lack of shaving, his eyes were dull, and the wrinkles on his face were more pronounced. The steam rising from the cup of coffee barely got his attention as his eyes remained locked on the bustling street outside.

People were waking with the rising sun and leaving the comfort of their dwellings to explore the day. Both locals and tourists were dining in the small town diner.

Brass was sipping his coffee and keeping a sharp eye on the door. He didn't acknowledge Jordan when she entered, only when she roughly sat down next to Grissom. "Mornin'."

With a nod, Brass said a silent good morning; Grissom slowly turned his head and glared at the officer. Her eyebrows shot up when she noticed his distraught appearance.

"Damn, you look like shit. Better keep drinking that coffee." A waitress came by and placed a glass of orange juice in front of her. "So, Jon's sitting in front of the office as he normally does. He'll give me a call when he sees Grant entering town."

"When time does he normally show up?" Brass spoke what Grissom was thinking.

With a shrug Jordan replied, "Sometimes before eleven, sometimes later."

"So, we're stuck here until we get a call?" Grissom mumbled still fixed on the outside activities.

"No, you're stuck here. I'm going to make my rounds." Jordan stood and left them.

With a growl, Grissom looked back to Brass. "I don't like her Jim. She's going to mess this whole thing up and possibly get Sara killed."

Brass sighed and just sipped at his coffee. Moments later the waitress brought two plates of food and Brass dug in. Grissom continued to look out the window. "Better eat. You're no good to Sara if you can't stand up because you haven't eaten in days." His eyes quickly shifted and Grissom took a moment to glare at his friend before beginning to pick at his food. "I'd also recommend a shave, maybe a shower."

"Why, do I stink?" All Brass could do was grin and continue eating. Grissom tried to subtlety sniff at his armpit. He pursed his lips and silently agreed with Brass.

After a quick shower, Grissom was back sitting in the diner with his friend. Brass was talking on the phone with another detective about a case back in Vegas. With his eyes still locked on the activity outside, Grissom overheard bits and pieces of the conversation taking place. Mostly he was treating it like white noise, and remained quiet as he continued to look for any glimpse of Grant.

He noticed a car parked on the far side of the street and something about it got his full attention. Blindly he reached over and grabbed Jim's arm. The few sharp tugs had him ending his call. "What?"

"That car." Grissom pointed it out. "Just something about it looks familiar."

Brass pulled a small pair of binoculars from his front shirt pocket. He noticed Grissom staring at him. "What? I wanted to come prepared." His eyes focused through the viewer and looked at the car across the street. "Washington tags; alpha, zeta, omega, five, two, eight…" Grissom scratched the info down as Brass continued to look at the car. When he scoffed at what he was seeing, Grissom glared at him before trying to see outside.

"What?"

With a smile Brass lowered the binoculars, "There's a parking permit hanging from the front window."

Grissom was on pins and needles. "And…"

"And…" He paused. "It says Pine Valley apartments." Brass watched Grissom return his glare to the street. "Las Vegas." He added and Grissom's head snapped around.

They were both observing the car when the booth seats next to them were roughly filled with two people. Jordan and Jon were looking out the window with them. "What's so interesting?"

Grissom turned his head to glare at her. "We found his car."

"The green Buick?" Jon spoke up. "Yeah, he came into town about twenty minutes ago."

"Then what the…" Grissom bit his tongue and smothered another outburst.

Jordan suddenly stood and left. The three watched her cross the street towards Grants car. Both Brass and Grissom were not happy with the young officer's actions.

"What is she doing?" The detective asked.

Jon didn't answer before climbing out of the booth and leaving. Grissom bit the inside of his cheek. "She's a moron. If she tips him off that we're here…" He couldn't finish his sentence with the frustration he was feeling.

Jordan calmly entered the small hardware store. Several locals waved and said their greetings as she moved through the aisles. At first she past Grant and made a note of the items on the walls. She took a moment and then walked back to turn down the aisle. Her eyes were scanning the shelves looking at the many items.

She picked up a package of fishing line and evaluated it before replacing the item. He had moved closer and she glanced over and smiled at him. Now or never.

"Grant?"

He was shocked and looked at the officer. "Yeah." His voice was calm.

Jordan turned. "You don't remember me, do ya? We went to Middle Creek High School together."

"Oh, yeah." It took him for a moment to recollect the past. "You were that girl always bullying the preppy kids."

She smiled widely. "That was me."

He looked over her uniform. "I see not much has changed."

"Well, no more bullying. When did you move back to Silverton?"

Grant shrugged. "A while back I guess. Did some fast money jobs here and there, and now I've decided to take it easy."

"That's good. Where are the fish biting?" She thought quickly as he put some lures and string in his basket.

"Oh, well I've been staying in my Uncle's cabin. It's not that far from Coal Lake."

Jordan grinned. "Jon and I, or I should say mostly him, just fish out of the river. I'll sit on the bank and watch but that's about it." She picked up a bobber. "It's his birthday tomorrow and I haven't really gotten him anything. Think this would be good?"

Grant laughed. "A bobber for river fishing? No." He reached down and picked up a small assortment of lures. "I'm sure he would like these."

She took the plastic box. "Great thanks. Hey, it was good to see you." He responded with a smile and Jordan walked away. She purchased the item and left the store.

After a moment with his eyes closed to recollect his thoughts, Grant continued to shop and decided that he needed to leave town. He purchased his items and headed to his car.

Grissom and Brass watched as Jordan returned to the diner and sat down. "You're an idiot you know that!"

"Oh calm down." She sat in the booth. "Here." She slid the lures at Jon who began to investigate them. "The cabin is somewhere close to Coal Lake. I'm thinking within an hour walking distance."

"Where's the lake?" Brass had his eyes locked on the officer.

"We'll get on the Mountain Loop Highway east. About ten miles or so, and turn on Coal Lake Road. Follow that and it will take us to the lake."

Grissom hung his head. They were going into unknown territory blind and officer Kojack was being no help. Brass noticed his friend. "How about 'we'll' go…" He referred and pointed to Grissom and himself. "Once we find the cabin, we'll come back to town and the four of us can make a plan to get Sara out safely and without a shot fired."

Jordan could tell the older man wasn't making a suggestion, and just nodded in agreement. "Let's go Jon."

Once they were gone Grissom and Brass headed for their car and began down the highway. They found the turn off for the road. "Wasn't there a park entrance back there?" Grissom quickly offered.

"Yeah." Brass turned the car around and back tracked a mile. He parked the car so they could see passing traffic.

They waited nearly an hour before the car in question passed. "There!" Grissom sat up quickly and pointed. "Go Jim."

He turned the key and the engine came to life. "I'm going, just calm down."

Brass kept a fair distance between Grant's car and theirs. The winding road seemed to go on forever, and multiple side roads branched off of Coal Lake Road leading further into the woods. There were so many that they couldn't keep count of how many they had passed as they followed Grant.

Eventually Grant slowed and turned onto an unmarked road. Brass slowed as he turned but continued on his current heading. Grissom watched as the Buick disappeared into the dense forest. Once it was out of view, Brass quickly turned the car around and they proceeded down the same path as Grant.

As they drove they noticed several other small paths diverting off from the dirt road. "Where the hell did he go?" Grissom thought out loud.

Brass slowly shook his head as he continued to drive. Eventually they were back to the main road. "Dammit!" He pointed to the sign that said 'Coal Lake Road'. "We just went in a big damn circle." After looking both ways, Brass pulled out and headed back towards Silverton.

They entered town and stopped in front of the small police station. Jordan and Jon were sitting comfortably in the wooden bench next to the front door. She smiled widely. "So…how did it go?"

With a groan Brass spoke. "We trailed him to a dirt road but lost him after that, almost getting ourselves lost in the process."

Jordan waved her hand and stood. "Come inside." Everyone followed her inside to her desk. "Show me what road." A large map was spread out covering the entire top.

Both older men tried to figure out which road they turned on. "It's got to be one of these." They gave her a general area.

"Okay, well he was buying fishing supplies at the store, so I'm thinking he's going to be at the shoreline in the next day or so."

Grissom stopped her. "I do not like where this is going."

"Just hear me out." She referred back to the map. "The cabin is obviously on this side of the lake. I mentioned to him that Jon liked to fish also, we can borrow Mister McKinley's boat. Jon and I can go out on the lake to fish. Or, at least he can, I can get a killer tan." Both Brass and Grissom rolled their eyes. "We can use two-way radios and you two can follow up from the shore."

With a shake of his head Grissom protested. "This is insane. You're going to put Sara's life at risk."

"He comes to town with her. Do you think he chains her up when he leaves by himself?" Jordan's voice rose slightly.

"Sara wouldn't stay voluntarily. She would do anything she could to escape." He fired back.

"So on the trips to town he's got her tethered to him with an invisible chain?!"

His hand slammed down on the desk. "You don't know Sara!" The outburst caused everyone to jump. "She wouldn't stay with that maniac unless he's threatened her! She's the victim here, not him!" The veins in his neck had popped out, and his chest was heaving.

"Gil…" Brass placed a calming hand on his friends arm. "It's not a bad idea. He's obviously not going to move her, so we do have time on our side now that we have an area to search." He watched as Grissom's breathing began to slow. "We can search the woods when they notice him at the lake. If he's alone, we can take Sara from the house, and then arrest him. On a chance she's with him, we'll locate the cabin, and go from there."

They all waited for his agreement, and eventually got it. Jordan smiled. "Okay, we'll get the boat in the morning."

* * *

The plot thickens. Will they be able to find the cabin? Will Grant catch on and run with Sara? Stay tuned to find out.

TDCSI


	15. Chapter 15

Okay so this is a big my bad for being so late. Everything that can go wrong, has so far. Thanks to Jersey for pushing me to keep writing, and again, no beta, so if you don't like it, suck it.

* * *

What Goes Around

Chapter 15

"Wow, it's way too early for me." Jordan sat up in the SUV as Jon backed the boat into Coal Lake.

"I've been waiting for this day. Getting paid for fishing." His excitement evident in his voice.

There was enough light to see clearly around the lake, and the sky was shaded in a brilliant variety of colors. The water was calm as the Jon let the sparkling bass boat into the water. Jordan managed to help tether the boat to the dock while Jon parked the trailer. Within thirty minutes they were speeding to their destination.

Brass and Grissom drove down the same road they had the previous day. The car was carefully parked along the shoulder closest to the lake. Grissom placed a two-way radio in his pocket before exiting the car. After securing his gun, Brass followed. They walked several hundred yards into the dense forest before radioing, their eyes on the water.

"This is Brass, got a copy?"

Jon laughed as he picked up the radio. "This is the watch boat, we got ya, over."

Jordan rolled her eyes. "Can you get anymore childish?"

Both Grissom and Brass sighed and almost regretted the decision about teaming up with the local police. "Are you in position?"

"That's a negative ghostrider." Jon replied to Brass and snickered as he slowed the boat. "I've always wanted to do that." Jordan shook her head as she spread a towel out over the nose of the boat.

Grissom ground his teeth and shook his head. "That moron."

His friend gave his a few short pats on the shoulder for reassurance. "Don't worry, we'll find her."

They began an easy pace through the trees. Their eyes scanning ahead of them looking for any signs of the cabin. Each step was carefully taken through the dense debris that littered the ground.

The sun was getting high as Jon cast his line into the water once again. His eyes were concentrated on the bobber, but occasionally drifted to Jordan as she lay on the towel. A skimpy black and white polka dotted bikini barely covering her as her skin glistened with tanning oil in the sun. "Damn you look good enough to eat."

She never moved but did manage to laugh out loud. "Thanks."

"You're welcome."

"You know, the only glitch in this whole operation is that the water is going to carry our voices." She turned over to expose her back to the sun.

"Yeah, well then if they happen to show up on the shore, they will be able to hear you scream." He wiggled his eye brows.

Jordan laughed and sat up. Her smile quickly died as she noticed two people emerge from the trees behind Jon. "There they are." She picked up the radio. "Okay, I think they're here." Her voice was soft.

When the radio came to life, Brass and Grissom jumped. Noting that she was trying to remain quiet Brass whispered back, "10-4"

Grissom sighed as they continued through the trees. "We're never going to find this cabin." He glanced down at his next step and froze. "Jim." Brass joined him and looked at the very newly formed foot path.

They looked at each other and grinned. After glancing both directions, they silently chose to head towards the water.

Grant and Sara spread out a large blanket on the soft sandy beach. She sat down, got comfortable, and opened her current book of choice. After preparing his line, Grant stood on the shore and casted his line into the water. His eyes quickly caught the vessel floating several hundred yards out. He glanced back as Sara peacefully read her book.

Always being prepared, Grant pulled a small pair of binoculars from his tackle box and focused in on the boat. "Fucking cops." He mumbled.

Jordan dropped her binoculars, "He's watching us."

"Should we give him a show?"

"I was thinking a little distraction that we're not spying on him." She grinned as Jon set his fishing pole down and moved over to her.

Watching through the trees were Grissom and Brass. Grissom's eyes picked up Sara's form in an instant. Brass held onto his friend's arm preventing him from giving away their hiding spot.

"Gil, there's no sense in going out there now. We need to find where he's keeping her." Brass whispered sternly. "Be patient."

They both laid low and watched Sara read, and Grant fish. Brass picked up the radio and handed it to Grissom. "How's it going out there?"

The radio remained silent for a few minutes and just as Grissom was about to repeat himself it crackled. "Sorry, we're trying to keep our cover. Grant was looking at us through binoculars."

Grissom turned to Brass and they shared a confused stare. "There was too much heavy breathing in that transmission." Brass offered as Grissom brought the radio towards his mouth.

"Okay, well…we're going to follow them back to the cabin when they leave the lake."

Once again the radio was quiet for a moment. "Um…Can you guys see us?"

"Thankfully, no." Grissom ended the transmission.

Grant began to get uneasy knowing that there were cops floating on a boat several hundred yards from him, so he decided to call it a day. "Okay, honey, I'm fried and the fish aren't biting."

Sara was quick to close her book and begin folding the blanket. After gathering everything, they started back on the narrow foot path back to their home.

Grissom and Brass let them get a decent head start before finding the path themselves and silently followed it. They hiked for what seemed like forever before smelling the smoke from a chimney. Brass reached up to grab Grissom's arm, pulling him to a stop. They kneeled amongst the ground cover.

"This is where he's holding Sara?" Grissom spoke softly.

Brass shrugged. "I guess." He raised his scope and glanced over the cabin and its surroundings. "If we plan this right, we can get in and get Sara out without any problems."

"If he hurts her…" Grissom started but hadn't decided on the method of torture he was going to put Grant through.

They sat and observed the cabin a little longer before retreating back towards their car. Grissom wasn't thrilled about leaving Sara with that bastard but he didn't have a choice. Brass radioed to Jordan that they were heading to town, but never received a return transmission.

After the hike to the car, and the drive to town, Grissom and Brass retired to the small diner. Grissom was silent as he picked at his food. A few hours later Jordan and Jon appeared.

Both slid into the booth. "So, found the cabin huh? We gonna storm it?" Jordan started, but Grissom's stare silenced her. "Okay."

"I didn't know it took over two hours to put a boat on a trailer and drop it off." Grissom spoke softly as his glance continued out the window.

Brass knew where this was going and cleared his throat. "We need to get Grant to town, alone." Grissom's eyes met Brass'. "The cabin is easy to get to, once you know where it is. It's getting Sara out of there unharmed is the key. We'll take Grant down later."

Jon nodded. "I agree, but he only comes to town once or twice a week."

"Is there electricity running to that cabin?" Grissom spoke up.

Jordan perked up. "I can check."

"Why wait for him to leave on his time? Cut the power, and lure him out. We can take him when he comes out leaving Sara inside." It didn't sound like much but it was a shot and at this point Grissom was willing to do anything to get Sara back in his arms.

That very evening Grissom, Brass, and Jordan encircled the cabin. The sun was getting low in the horizon and with the trees darkness was settling in fast. They all heard the air brakes engaging in the distance, indicating that Jon was almost ready.

Grissom began to get antsy sitting next to a tree. His eyes fixed on the cabin just waiting. Suddenly the lights inside all went out. Jon had succeeded. He stood and positioned himself behind a tree just as the door on the cabin opened.

Grant stood on the small porch and let his eyes scan over the trees before him. Sensing nothing, he stepped off the steps and began walking towards the small drive that lead away from the cabin. He stopped again to check the trees. Something wasn't feeling right with him.

Just as he was about to return to the cabin, a large electrical truck made its way through the trees. Grant approached the driver and they began a conversation. Brass began his approach and Jon climbed out of the passenger side of the truck. They both surrounded Grant.

"Freeze! Las Vegas Police!" Grant's eyes grew and for a moment he debated on running. "Put your hands over your head and get down on your knees." Brass' demand was met with a stare by Grant. He slowly lowered his body to the ground and continued to stare at the man pointing a gun at him.

Jon moved over and handcuffed Grant. Grissom was able to view everything and the minute Grant was cuffed, he headed for the cabin. Not wanting to startle Sara, he opened the door and casually entered. "Sara."

She was sitting in the bed, as every time before when Grant stepped out of the cabin, he told her to stay put while he checked for danger. Sara heard the door open and stood to greet him. The voice calling out stopped her short. Her breathing became shallow, and it seemed her heart stopped as he came into view.

"Sara." Grissom's eyes roamed her body for any injury. He ignored the green tinted sun dress she was in and slowly approached her. "Sara, I'm sorry it's taken so long to find you." His voice was soft and caring as he approached her.

She took several steps back, as tears began to steak her face. "I can't believe you're here."

"I know."

Sara shook her head. "If Grant finds you he said he'd kill you."

"Sara, no one's threatened me. Jim has Grant in custody. Nobody's going to hurt you anymore." Her tears increased as Grissom closed the distance between them.

She had backed up into a wall and was trapped. Her one true love was standing before her, while the one she had grown to love was in custody. "This is all too much. I don't know what…where's Grant? I want to see him. Jim didn't hurt him, did he?"

"Sara…" Grissom was taken aback by her concern for her kidnapper.

"No, I want to see him." She went to walk around him but he grabbed her arm. "Let me go!"

Grissom held her and pulled her body close to his. "Sara, please." He wrapped his arms around her. She began to cry and her body slumped to the floor. He kneeled next to her. "Sara, what's wrong? Honey, please tell me."

Brass entered the cabin and followed the sobs. He stood over the couple on the floor and received a confused look from his friend. Sara should have been shedding tears of joy, but instead was crying in sadness.

* * *

Wow, talk about confusing.

TDCSI


	16. Chapter 16

Okay, so sorry for the delay, as I said on my other fic, real life has been hell lately. But I'm making it through. Thanks again to Jersey for playing along. Enjoy.

* * *

What Goes Around

The small town officers put Grant into the back of their vehicle and headed back into town. Grissom and Brass remained in the cabin as Sara recovered from the shock.

She was sitting on the couch rocking back and forth trying desperately to keep calm. Grissom was next to her with an arm around her in any attempt to ease her discomfort. Brass busied himself with looking through the cabin. He found one hand gun, and a shot gun in the closet, neither locked away or unloaded. After glancing back at Sara, Brass wasn't sure she was the same person that was taken from them. The Sara they knew would have grabbed a gun and escaped.

After an hour of looking there was nothing that was worth taking as evidence. The cabin looked as if normal people were living there. Brass finished his search and Grissom gently took Sara's hand and pulled her to her feet. "Come on honey."

She was silent on the ride back to town. Only when the car drove past the sheriffs office did Sara speak. "Can I see him?" Her voice was quiet, and her eyes never left the sight of the office until it was out of sight.

Grissom turned in his seat to look at her. He wanted to say something, but he knew it was inappropriate, so he remained silent. They reached the small motel and Grissom escorted her into the room followed by Brass.

The detective was quick to flop down on his bed and turn on the television. He knew silence was the best thing right now. While Brass decided on a channel, Sara sat uneasily on the edge of the bed. Grissom used the restroom before joining her.

"Sara…" He sat down tentatively next to her and cautiously took up her hand into his. "Are you hungry? Would you like to get something to eat?"

She looked around the small room. "There's nowhere to cook."

For a moment Grissom wanted to laugh, but stopped himself. "No, honey, we'll go down to the diner and you can eat whatever your heart desires."

Sara began getting uncomfortable and her eyes were skipping around the area. "Can I just take a shower?"

"Of course you can." Grissom kept his voice low and soothing not wanting to cause her anymore duress.

Once Sara was in the shower, Grissom turned to Brass. His friend shrugged. "That's not the same Sara. She's…."

"Domesticated." Brass quickly added

Grissom turned to focus on the closed bathroom door. "Stockholm's." He whispered to himself, but Brass heard it. They locked stares one more time before the shower ceased.

Shortly the door opened and Sara stuck her head out. "Grissom…" She used her finger to summon him.

He crossed the short distance in an instant. "Yes."

She kept herself covered by the small white towel. "I don't have any clean clothes."

"Ah, well…" He glanced around. "Okay, so why don't you just get dressed in what you have and we'll go to…" Now he was looking at Brass. All he received back was a blank stare. "Uh, gimmie a minute." Grissom pulled his phone out and dialed the number on the small business card.

Sara redressed and went back to sitting on the bed. She watched the TV with Brass for a moment while Grissom was on the phone. "Where's Grant?"

Brass glanced at her. "He's in jail. He kidnapped you Sara."

She shook her head. "I wanted to escape, but he kept telling me all he had to do was make a phone call and Grissom would be killed. I couldn't risk it. He was good to me. Bought me clothes let me do what I wanted."

"Except leave."

Tears started down her cheeks and Grissom ended his call and was next to her in seconds. "Sara, I'm right here. No one is going to hurt you or me." She began to sob and he wrapped his arms around her.

Within the hour they were at the small store on the main street clothes shopping. Sara picked out some jeans and comfortable shirts. Grissom graciously purchased them for her, and while the sight of her in a dress was nice, he didn't go for the country style. He liked her better in a sexy cocktail dress.

"So, feeling better?" Both Grissom and Sara turned to see the friendly neighborhood sheriff. "State police will be picking up your dirt bag in the morning."

"He's not a dirt bag." Sara stepped forward.

"Well, he's a kidnapper from a long family history of kidnapping." Jordan simply stated but Sara had other intentions.

"Bitch!" She lounged at the officer, but luckily Grissom was between them. "He's a good man, you just don't know him!"

"Sara!" Grissom held her until she stopped trying to attack Jordan.

"Look, I'm sure he is, but he's still a kidnapper, and a stalker from what I can tell. Anyway, you can fill out your paperwork for transfer in Seattle." The officer turned and left them alone.

"Sara, please calm down." He held her at arms length. "Why are you so adamant about protecting him?"

Her chest heaved with frustration and she locked eyes with Grissom. "He didn't hurt me. He's really very kind."

"He took you from your life."

Sara pulled back and picked up her clothes. "Can we go now?" Grissom nodded and they headed for the car.

The instant they returned to the small room, Sara went into the bathroom to change. Brass was still sitting on the bed watching television, waiting their return. "So, I'm starved." The statement was more of a request than an expression.

Grissom glared at him before sitting on the remaining bed. He glanced back at the closed bathroom door before speaking. "She's changed. Just in these few months."

Brass shrugged. "I don't know what to tell you other than that piece of shit brainwashed her."

A few minutes later Sara emerged. "Feel better?" Grissom asked because to him she defiantly looked better. All he got was a shrug. "Well, we were going to get some dinner, are you hungry?" Again she shrugged.

Grissom stood and took her hand with a comforting smile. Without word they drove down the street to the small diner. Sara sat in the corner protected by Grissom. She could feel people staring at her. Being the small town that it is, word travels fast among the locals.

She picked at her food, and even managed to eat half of it. Brass scarffed his down in several minutes, while Grissom attempted to eat slow as to not make Sara feel like she was slowing them down. They didn't talk much other than planned on leaving for Seattle mid morning.

They all took turns changing into their sleeping attire. Sara emerged from the bathroom and glanced at both men as they lay on separate beds watching TV. She had been sleeping in another man's bed for a few months, and even though she was used to being with Grissom, the thought was conflicting.

He was quick to notice her distress and patted the mattress next to him. Sara swallowed hard and cautiously pulled the covers back and climbed underneath them. Like her first night with Grant, she hugged the edge of the bed.

Grissom eased onto his side and looked at her backside and how she was trying to stay away from him. "Sara it's okay." He put a hand on her shoulder and she jumped. "I'm not going to hurt you." As his hand rubbed small comforting circles on her skin, she relaxed. He remained silent but continued his small gesture until she turned to face him. Her eyes were stained with tears. Grissom smiled trying to ease her discomfort. "It's okay. Just try and get some rest."

The next morning, Grissom woke with a familiar warmth at his side that he had missed. His eyes peered down to the brunette hair that covered his chest. He made no effort to move and just relished in the feeling that she was back at his side. Then and there he made a vow to always protect her, even if it was from her own arrogance.

Brass strolled out of the bathroom fully dressed and fresh from his shower. He smiled at his friend and mouthed 'food' before exiting the room. Grissom was on cloud nine just enjoying having Sara with him again.

Sara began to wake shortly after Brass left. She let out a satisfied moan and stretched. "Mmmm, I haven't slept that good in a long time. How about you Grant?" She looked up and her eyes locked with Grissom's. Startled Sara quickly sat up. "I'm sorry."

His face remained neutral, however on the inside he was boiling. "Did you sleep with him?" Her jaw went slack as she thought about her answer. "If it takes this long to respond, I'm assuming you did." He tossed the covers off of his body and stood.

"Just in the same bed." Sara quickly spat out. Grissom turned to look at her. "Nothing happened. He just demanded that I sleep in the same bed."

His mind raced and a sinking feeling that she wasn't being honest with him tried to overtake him, but the look of her face seemed genuine and he smiled. "Okay."

Sara smiled and knew that she had gotten away with a lie. Her and Grissom changed and had packed when Brass returned. He bragged about breakfast as they loaded the car.

The drive to Seattle went fast and they were at the state police office filling out the paper work to transfer Grant to Vegas. Sara was sitting in a small chair while Brass and Grissom did the documenting.

She stood and tapped Grissom's shoulder. "I want to see him."

"Sara, he's fine I'm sure."

"Just…I just need to see him. Please?" Her face pleaded with him and when he sighed she smiled and embraced him. "Thank you."

It was arranged so Sara could see and talk to Grant through the cubicle visiting booths. Grant was seated in front of her and picked up the phone. Sara was beaming when she saw him. "Are you okay?"

Grant smiled. "I am now. Did they hurt you?" She shook her head. He noticed her attire. "Where's your dress?"

"He likes this better." She referred to her tank top and jeans.

He wasn't impressed. "They're transferring me back to Vegas."

"I know."

"Listen Sara, we'll be together again. I promise." She smiled.

Grissom had been watching on the video monitors and after Grant's last remark pulled the plug on the visit. An officer was quick to escort Grant back to his cell.

Sara returned to Grissom who was lessed than pleased with what he observed but didn't lead onto his feelings and hid them well.

They all climbed into the car and headed for the airport. Sara stayed quiet. Only when they were sitting in the terminal did she bring up Grant. "Is Grant being flown back?"

Brass noticed his friends face turn and answered for him. "He's being bused back with several other inmates."

"Ah."

The silence between them was awkward even as they boarded the plane. The realization hit Sara as the plane was taking off that she was returning home.

* * *

Okay, so hope I didn't lose too many of you faithful readers out there.

TDCSI


	17. Chapter 17

So, Jersey read this today, I wrote it yesterday, and it seemed to be good. So, I decided to go ahead and post it instead of waiting.

* * *

What Goes Around

Grissom didn't know, but Brass had informed their colleagues of Sara's 'condition', and seemed quite surprised when Catherine was the only one greeting them at the airport.

"Hi, Brass said he might need a ride home."

"Oh…umm…I guess he did ride here with me." Grissom was holding Sara's hand but felt her duck behind him slightly as Catherine approached them.

"It's alright Gil; I'll just ride home with Catherine. You two go home as well, and we'll meet tomorrow." Brass half smiled at his friend and walked away with Catherine.

After watching his friends leave, Grissom turned to Sara. "Are you ready to go home?" She shrugged and he led her to his car.

Sara looked out the window of the car like she was a tourist. She observed the entire collection of towering and glamorous casinos and hotels pass as they drove down the strip. The corners of her mouth rose up as she suddenly felt a wave of relief hit her.

The bling of the strip faded into the suburban dwellings where all of the homes were nearly the same color, shape, and size. Another fifteen minutes and the car pulled into the driveway of their home. Sara stared at the front door remembering the last time she was here. Grant had gotten in, drugged her, and took her to a fake life.

Grissom turned off the motor and just observed her actions. He hoped she wouldn't refuse to stay here because of the trauma of what happened. When she turned and grinned at him, a sense of relief overtook him and he climbed out. Sara hesitated a moment before getting out herself. Grissom took her hand up in his to lead her to their home, and he figured she'd need some comfort. He wanted to ensure her that she was safe.

The house was just as she remembered. She wondered if he had even spent any time there after her abduction. Grissom released her hand and went to retrieve their bags. When he returned Sara was gone. His first instinct was to call out for her, but he knew that she didn't need him shadowing her. He went to their bedroom and noticed her lying in the bed.

"Can we watch a movie?" She was staring at the blank flat screen TV.

Grissom set their things down in front of the closet door. "What would you like to see?"

Sara continued looking at the far wall. Her memory flashed and she vaguely remembered the last time she was in the bedroom. "Whatever is in it."

After picking up the remote, Grissom kicked off his shoes and eased into a relaxed position on the bed. He cued up the television and DVD player. While the movie started, Grissom propped his head up with the pillows and crossed his legs keeping his arms at his side. He didn't want Sara to get uncomfortable, but when she scooted over and used his shoulder as a pillow. Feeling her body next to his was relieving. She was back with him. Grissom maneuvered his arm to her back and softly rubbed in a back and forth movement. Sara sighed at the feeling. Her body was so relaxed that she dozed off within the first ten minutes of the movie.

Grissom let his eyes open. His neck was stiff from the awkward position his head was in. He stretched and instantly realized that he was alone in the bed. For a moment he panicked at Sara's absence and quickly got out of the bed. His pace was hurried as he entered the living area.

Sara was curled on the couch reading a book. She was startled by his sudden appearance. "What's wrong?"

His chest heaved from the rush of adrenaline. "It was just a bad dream." He lied, but in a way it was true. In a diversion he went into the small kitchen and made himself a sandwich.

While Grissom ate, Sara continued to read. He wanted to ask her about getting checked out physically, but knew this was not the time.

They spent a quiet evening together and while lying in bed watching another movie Grissom decided to bring his concern forth. "I'd like to get you checked out."

Sara gasped and glanced at him. "Why? I'm fine."

"Please Sara, I just want to double check. It would put my mind at ease." He kept his voice low and non-confrontational.

"He didn't hurt me Grissom. He wouldn't do that." Her voice escalated at the audacity of his request.

"I talked to Al; he said he could do it so you wouldn't have to go through all of the red tape of seeing a regular physician." He knew her reasons for not wanting to see a doctor, but it was something that he needed.

Sara chewed on his request for a few silent moments before glancing at him. "I'll think about it."

He picked up her hand and kissed the back of it. She flinched slightly at the contact. Grissom dismissed it as he let his lips linger on her skin. "That's all I ask."

After releasing her hand, Grissom repositioned himself to lay on his side. He was facing her but kept his eyes closed in an attempt to get some sleep. Sara let the light of the television illuminate the room and observed his face as it relaxed as he fell asleep. She thought about his request, and even thought about needing to see a doctor for the baby. A part of her wasn't ready to tell him. The fear of rejection and abandonment entered her mind.

The following morning Sara agreed to have Dr Robbins check her out for Grissom's sake. They entered through the rear of the building normally reserved for those on gurneys. Al had finished his last post for the day and cleaned a table up for Sara.

"Gil, Sara, it's good to see you are okay." The older man greeted them.

"Albert." Gil replied, Sara gave a half smile and nodded.

"Well…" Al patted the cold table. "Hop up Sara."

She gripped Grissom's hand as fear overtook her. "It's okay, I'll be right here with you." He led her over to the table and she carefully climbed on.

Al put on a pair of rubber gloves and reached up to feel her lymph nodes. "Do you remember how he subdued you?"

While Sara sat like a statue as Al's hands felt around her neck she thought back. "He must have put something in the wine. I remember he handed me a glass and insisted I drink all of it."

"And this didn't tip you off?" Grissom blurted out.

"He practically forced it down my throat!"

"Gil." Al interrupted not needing Sara to get hysterical.

After listening to her lungs and checking her reflexes Al asked her to lie on her back. Sara's eyes widened and she wanted to refuse and claim she was fine, but Grissom's hand was already helping her back. She gripped his hand as Al lifted her shirt exposing her stomach.

Sara looked down and could barely see the baby bump. Her heart rate increased as she felt Al's hands begin to palpate her and when he would ask if any areas were sensitive, she would shake her head.

When he removed his hands she tried to sit up right away. "Hold on Sara, I want to listen real quick." Al put the stethoscope to her belly and Sara closed her eyes.

Grissom was standing opposite of Al and holding his beloved's hand when he noticed something. "What?"

Al's eyes rose in a surprised manner and his friend caught it. Ignoring the question at the moment he finished and allowed Sara to sit up. "Sara, have you noticed missing your period?"

"Uh…nope." She tried to put on a straight face, but Al saw right through it.

Al sighed and looked from Grissom to Sara and back. "Sara, you're pregnant."

"What?" Grissom quickly blurted out. Sara remained still.

"You knew didn't you?" The doctor asked and all he got in a response was Sara hanging her head.

Grissom began feeling conflicted and without breaking his stare at Sara asked, "Al, would you please excuse us?" With a slight nod of acknowledgement, Al hobbled to his office and closed the door. His chest heaved as he moved to stand in front of Sara. "Did you sleep with him?" No response. "Did he rape you?"

Her head finally rose up to look upon his face. "No."

"No, he didn't rape you." She nodded. "Well if you didn't sleep with him and he didn't rape you…" Grissom released a breath of fire trying to keep his temper in check. "Is this my baby?"

"I don't know." Sara hung her head again and closed her eyes expecting the worse.

"What do you mean you don't know?" Grissom read her like an open book. "You slept with him, didn't you?" When he got no response he let his rage take over. "You lied to me! Why Sara? Why did you sleep him?" His voice boomed in the small enclosure.

Sara's head shot up. "He constantly threatened your life! He told me that he'd have you killed, and that the only way to keep you alive was to do as he wanted!"

"So why do you keep protecting him? Are you in love with him?"

"No."

"Then why the lies Sara!?" Grissom took several steps back and ran his hands through his hair. "Why can't you see that he hurt you, he's the bad guy?"

"Because he never hurt me. I was free to roam around away from the cabin in the woods where life is simple and not complicated!"

"Stop protecting him!" Grissom yelled and slammed his fist down coming in contact with a stainless steel tray of several instruments. It went crashing to the floor and brought Robbins from his office.

"What the hell's going on?" He made his way over to the couple. Grissom was making futile attempts to get control of his anger while Sara was holding back tears. Al approached Sara. "You'll need an ultrasound."

"No."

"It's just to check the health of the baby."

"Would they be able to tell how long she's been pregnant?" Grissom got a grip long enough to ask.

Al nodded. "Yes. Sara you've been gone for two months, so I can't tell if this man or Gil is the father." He glanced back to his friend. "It's a possibility you could be the father, right?"

Grissom sighed. "Yes."

It was all the answer the doctor was going to get knowing how personal his friend is. "Okay, so schedule an ultrasound as soon as possible."

Sara wanted to refuse again, but upon seeing how upset Grissom was just decided to go through with it.

Once Grissom was in control of his emotions again, they headed home. He stormed into the house leaving the front door wide open for Sara as he entered the bedroom and slammed the door. Sara slowly entered, closed and locked the door. She curled up on the couch and clutched a pillow. Her tears flowed easily and were absorbed by the innocent pillow.

Grissom paced for thirty minutes before stopping to hear Sara's sobs. His heart ached at the hurt he had caused her, but his mind was still furious at the lies she told him. Several minutes later his phone rang. "Grissom."

"Hey, I've got good news and bad news." Brass offered.

"Okay."

"To you they combine, but the bus transporting Grant crashed in Oregon. There were no survivors."

"No it's just good news to me." Grissom released another heavy sigh of emotion.

"What's wrong?"

Grissom shook his head. "Nothing, I'll tell you later. Bye." He quickly disconnected the call and opened the door.

Sara's sobs were soft but still audible. He eased into the living room and kneeled next to her on the couch. "Sara…I'm sorry I lost my temper." She sniffled and remained silent. "I know you're going through a lot, and what I did was uncalled for. I just hope you can understand where I was coming from."

This time she nodded. "I'm sorry too."

He tried to smile and reached out to hold her hand. "I promised to never hurt you, and that's just what I did. I'm sorry."

Grissom let the silence envelope them for a few moments before moving to sit next to her on the couch. He debated on telling her about the crash, and this time his brain won out over his heart.

"Brass called. The bus transporting Grant was in an accident." Sara's head snapped around, her eyes wide. "He said there were no survivors."

Her eyes welled up with tears and Grissom waited for her to ask for his comfort. He didn't have to wait long and her body eased into his, and he wrapped his arms around him. She didn't really cry for Grant's death, but she mourned enough to irritate Grissom. He didn't understand as to why she couldn't snap right back to her old life.

* * *

Well I don't think anyone's going to be upset that I killed the bad guy. Please review and you may get the next chapter just as fast.

TDCSI


	18. Chapter 18

Okay, thanks all for the few reviews I got. Appreciate that. I am totally done writing this, so there are a few more chapters left to go.

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What Goes Around

The couch was where they woke that evening. Sara stood and went to the kitchen. Grissom didn't follow her, but the obvious sounds of the refrigerator opening as well as cupboards gave him a clue that she was preparing dinner.

They ate in a comfortable silence that evening, and when lying in bed, Grissom spooned up behind her as they slept. When morning came, he wanted to offer to call for an ultrasound appointment, but was shocked when she was already doing it.

Because of the situation, Sara was able to be squeezed in that afternoon. They spent the morning at the house, Grissom working on his computer, and Sara was cleaning and dusting.

The clicks of the computer keys were drowned out by the vacuum cleaner as Sara hit every square inch of carpet in the house. She then started with cleaning the windows. After her precise dusting, Grissom decided she was finished for the day.

"Sara, why don't you call it a day?"

"But I'm not done, and we have to leave in an hour." She continued to clean the television.

Grissom waited until she had completed that task and took a hold of her hands. "Stop, please. Relax. There's no need to make this place spotless in one day." He walked her over to the couch and they sat down. "I'm sure it's dirty, in your absence I was hardly home, let alone cleaned."

"I guess I'm just used to being busy." She hung her head as if she was in trouble.

"It's okay. Just pace yourself. Do a little here and there. Take some time to read a book maybe, or whatever. I just don't want you to go stir crazy."

She nodded. "Can we take a walk before we leave?"

Grissom grinned and helped her up. They walked through the neighborhood hand in hand. Once they returned, it was time to leave.

The clinic wasn't very full and Sara was thankful for that. After filling out the clipboard of insane paperwork, she flipped through a few magazines and waited. Grissom had brought a book with him knowing the wait would be insanely long.

They waited about an hour before able to begin the embarrassing process of being weighed and getting vitals checked. Then it was another twenty minute wait before the doctor entered.

"Good afternoon, I'm Doctor Warren." She moved around and started prepping the ultrasound machine. "Okay, Sara, go ahead and lie down."

Grissom held her hand as Sara got comfortable as possible on the examination table. He offered her an encouraging smile while hoping to hear what he wanted to hear from the doctor.

It didn't take long before the image of the baby was on the screen in front of them. "Okay, here's your baby. Hands, feet…" She then turned on the sound and the whooshing of the heartbeat was audible.

"Can you tell how far along she is?" Grissom only wanted one question answered at this point.

"Yes." After a few moments the doctor responded. "Looks like you're about ten weeks."

Grissom's brain began processing the information. Ten weeks, that's two and a half months. Sara had been gone for two months and nearly a week. A wave of relief washed over him as it was confirmed that he was the father of Sara's baby.

The smile he produced made Sara smile and he leaned down to kiss her cheek. "I love you."

Those three words whispered into her ear suddenly made everything very real. Tears formed in her eyes and rolled down her face as the image remained frozen on the screen. The feeling of Grissom's face next to hers was a feeling that she missed.

His face was soft, and the masculine smell that was unique to him was something that she had missed. The doctor wrote her a prescription for iron pills since she still was refusing to eat red meat, and recommended several vitamins that she was to begin taking.

They made the necessary stop on the way home to pick up the recommended items. Once home it dawned on Sara that there was something missing.

"Where's Hank?"

Grissom was unpacking her items and stopped to address the situation. "He's currently Lindsey's dog at the moment." He watched her face. "If you want, we can go and get him. I was never home and he was being emotionally neglected."

"No, it's okay. I'm sure Lindsey was thrilled to get a dog." Sara sulked back to the couch and sat down.

Once finished, Grissom joined her. "If you want we can go get another dog."

Sara shrugged her shoulders. "Maybe tomorrow."

That night was spent in peace. Sleep came easy for both of them and in the morning, Grissom was reluctant to get up. He knew that the coming evening was to be his first night back to work. While he resented the notion of leaving Sara, but Ecklie did make a deal with him. While he was at the lab, an unmarked car was to sit on the house.

He could hear Sara rummaging through some things but decided to ignore it. Only when she came into the room did he fully wake up.

"Gil, I found Hanks bowls, bed, and such." He sat up and looked at her as she beamed with excitement. "I looked through the paper and want to go look at this dog."

"Last night I thought we were still on the fence about another dog?" He groaned as he managed to get out of bed and stretch.

"I know, but I have a feeling about this one. He's at the shelter north of town. The one that has the animals for a week before they're euthanized." She followed him to the bathroom and just watched as he looked over his face in the mirror.

"Let me wake up, and then we'll go see." Her smile grew larger, and she went to set the formerly stored items in the kitchen.

For a moment the old Sara he remembered was back. But there were times when she would sink back into the routine of feeling obligated to do chores. When he finished and joined her in the kitchen, breakfast was made and once again the area was spotless. All he could do was deal with it internally, or he was going to drive them both crazy.

They ate breakfast together before heading to the shelter. It brought back memories for both of them on how they found Hank. The investigation brought them to the shelter to question the owner, and in the far corner pen sat the sad boxer.

Sara hurried out of the car and approached the same cage where Hank had briefly lived. Grissom was right behind her. "This is where Hank was."

"I remember."

"That's him." Sara pointed to the black and white spotted dog cowering in the corner. "He was in the paper." She kneeled and tried to convince the frightened animal to approach her.

"Can I help you folks?" An assistant offered.

"What's his story?" Grissom asked as Sara continued to attempt to lure the dog to her.

"Oh, well that's Oreo. He was dropped off here two days ago. I came out in the morning and someone had tied him up to the mailbox out front. I'm assuming he's had a family but they just can't take care of him anymore or are moving. I've heard so many excuses that I don't even care. He's been very timid tho. All of the commotion doesn't suit him."

"Can I go in there with him?" Sara had been unsuccessful at getting the dog to move from his corner. The assistant opened the door and Sara went in. "Hey there Oreo. Are you scared? You don't have to be scared of me." She kneeled a few feet from the dog and held out her hand. The dog stretched to sniff her before standing to approach her.

"He's a dalmatian." Grissom stated.

"Yeah, I'm not sure why they left him."

Sara began petting the dog. His coat was tough, and the white was dingy. His shoulders carried a heavy concentration of spots while both of his ears were black. His long thin tail was mostly white except for five evenly spaced spots. Once Sara began scratching behind his ears, the dog flopped onto his side exposing his stomach. Sara quickly obliged to the request and rubbed his belly.

Grissom took in the image of her sitting with the dog, and added a baby in her lap. "I think she's going to want him."

"Yes I do." She called from inside the kennel.

"I'll go get the papers."

Once everything was signed for, Sara opened the car door and Oreo gladly jumped in. Grissom first steered the car to the pet store for dog food. Sara also insisted that he get treats as well. After spending sixty dollars on food, treats, shampoo, and various toys, they headed home.

"Are you going to keep his name?"

Sara was sitting on the couch with their new pet debating on giving him a bath. "I like it. Don't you Oreo?" The dog just looked at her. "Come on, you need a bath."

She dug out the shampoo from the bag of items and took Oreo to the bathroom. Grissom decided that he needed more sleep in order to stay awake that evening. He climbed back into bed while Sara busied herself with the newest member of the family.

After a cleansing bath, Sara took Oreo outside to use the bathroom. She waited next to the patio door while he began marking various trees and the fence. When he was finished she let him back inside, and made herself a sandwich.

She did some online searching for baby items before getting bored with that. She had plenty of time. Boredom on the internet meant looking up strange things so she Google'd Grant Andersen. Various articles popped up from Vegas and even in Washington. Some weren't the same person, but others were. She read the most recent about the bus crash. They had pictures of all of the inmates and guards that were on the bus. She glanced at Grant's picture and once again felt herself choke up, but managed to keep her emotions in check.

He was dead, and Grissom was right, he was the bad guy. Sara looked around the small office at the various pictures of herself with Grissom. She was loved here and free to do as she wished. Grant had promised her the same, but now being away from him, Sara started to realize that she had been corrupted.

* * *

Well she's starting to come around.

TDCSI


	19. Chapter 19

Thanks again for the reviews of those who did, I enjoyed the comments. Just a few chapters left to go.

* * *

What Goes Around

Grissom was on edge the first night back to the lab. Sara was alone at home with a new dog that had yet to prove itself worthy of a guard dog. Even with the officers watching the house, he still called on the hour. Only when her voice was full of sleep, he stopped calling.

When morning came, he wasted no time in getting home. He unlocked the front door and entered. Grissom went straight to the bedroom and found Sara on top of the covers, sound asleep with Oreo. He was relieved and closed the door before returning to his study.

The computer woke up when he shook the mouse and he noticed that there was a minimized window. He opened it and noticed it was the article about the bus crash. His teeth squeaked as they ground together. She had looked up Grant. Grissom was confused to the fact at why she couldn't let that bastard go. He continued looking up the history and noticed that she was also baby shopping already. He browsed through the places she had searched.

"Hey." Sara's hands touched his shoulders.

Grissom jumped. "Geez Sara!"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"That's okay; just don't give me a heart attack please." He took several deep breaths to ease the adrenaline rush.

Sara's arms crossed his chest. "Looking up baby stuff huh?"

He grinned. "One can never start too early."

The first few weeks they took day by day as Sara would still find herself falling back into the routine of when she was with Grant. It took lots of patience on Grissom's part, but he let her wean herself away from her obsession. Eventually it worked, and Sara felt comfortable being around her former co-workers. She was able to venture out into public without feeling as if some stranger was going to attack her or abduct her.

Sara's pregnancy was progressing normally, and she hadn't brought Grant up or the past for quite a while. Grissom would take her for walks in the evening with Oreo before he had to go to work. Since she returned home, they had yet to be intimate, and while Grissom was fine with this, he was a man with needs.

On many occasions he would take care of those needs in the shower without Sara's knowledge. Her sex drive was at zero while she was pregnant.

However, one evening after returning from their walk, something in her sparked. "Gil…"

Grissom had settled into the cushiony couch and was about to pick up a book when the seductive tone in her voice was unmistakable. "Yes, dear."

Sara moved around the couch and carefully straddled his lap. Being seven months pregnant was a little awkward, but as his hands caressed the area where their child grew, she felt something inside of her she hadn't felt in a long time.

Her mouth opened as if she was going to speak, but instead leaned down and covered his mouth. Grissom's hands moved around to her back as the kiss was deep and hot. Their tongues clashed and fought for space as they invaded the other's mouths.

Grissom moved his hands lower and under the hem of her shirt. When his fingers came in contact with her skin the electricity surged through his hands and to his groin.

Sara moaned and ground down on his hardening erection. Her hands were rubbing ferociously on his chest, and eventually began pulling at his shirt. Once he was free from the material Sara's mouth hungrily attacked his chest. Grissom groaned at the contact and pulled Sara's shirt over her head. He freed her from the lacy bra and took in the sight of her full breasts.

They worked together to get their pants off and Grissom sat back on the couch allowing Sara to hover over his needy erection. His hands steadied her as she sunk slowly onto him. Both released a breath of air at the contact, and grateful for being together like this once again.

Grissom tried to relax and let Sara rock her hips, but her movement was driving him crazy, and she was stimulating herself.

"Oh God." Sara huffed out of breath as she felt her orgasm near.

With his hands on her hips, Grissom helped her move a little faster. "Not gonna last much longer."

They came together and cries of each other's names filled the living room. As the high wore off Sara felt exhausted. She glanced at Grissom. His head was back into the cushions; eyes closed, and mouth agape. "You okay?"

"uh-uh." He mumbled without looking at her. He was fully exhausted and every muscle in his body turned to jelly.

Sara leaned forward and held onto him. They were quiet and content with just listening to their breathing pattern slow, until a soft whine got their attention. "I think he's jealous." Sara kissed his lips softly.

She managed to climb off of her lover and walk to the back door letting Oreo outside. She then went back to him and picked up their clothes. "I can't move."

With a laugh Sara held out her hand waiting for his. Grissom managed to take her hand. "Come on, let's go to bed."

He stood with a loud groan. "Sounds good."

Several days later was the big shopping day. Sara and Grissom went to the local Babies R Us. The plan was to find everything they needed in one store.

The latest ultrasound indicated that they were having a boy, so Grissom was all over the stuffed animals and bugs. He wasn't going to get his boy anything cute.

Sara was picking out bedding for the crib and changing table. The linins at least had to match. She would hold out several colors to Grissom and he would either shake his head at it or shrug. While shaking his head he found it.

"Here" He reached up above Sara's head and plucked the bag of bedding.

"You're kidding right?" He just eyed her raising his right eyebrow in the process. "I guess it is cute."

"Are you kidding it's not cute, it's manly."

Sara scoffed and tossed the green leaved bug covered sheets into the fast filling cart. There were several stuffed critters that Grissom had picked out.

The next area was clothing. Sara was going through every rack for several different outfits that would fit an infant. Grissom picked out two that he liked, Sara picked out the rest.

"What about diapers and bottles?" Grissom pondered out loud as they walked past.

"Catherine said that we'll get the majority of that stuff at the baby shower." Sara walked beside him as he pushed the loaded cart.

They made their way over to the furniture area and instantly Sara sat in an oak glider rocker. Grissom stopped to observe her. "Comfy?"

She closed her eyes and rocked. "Mmm, very."

Grissom began looking over the choices for changing tables and cribs. The price tags on most of the items astounded him. While Sara continued to rock he noticed an oak crib and changing table set. He admired the delicate pieces, yet the sturdiness of them. The tone of wood matched the rocker Sara was test driving perfectly.

They made arrangements for the furniture to be delivered in several weeks, while they checked out with the smaller items.

Catherine was helping Sara with ideas on what colors and designs to paint the room they had chosen for the nursery. Grissom had to move several of his creepy crawlies to his study to make room for the baby.

The furniture was delivered on time after the room was completely painted. Grissom had the changing table together, and the rocker came assembled, but he was having issues with the crib. While he was attempting to assemble it, Sara was barking out instructions from her rocker. She smiled at him every time he glared at her for several comments.

Things were going along well until his phone rang. He knew it was work needing him, and debated on not answering it. In the end he flipped his phone open.

Sara watched as he took the call and ended it swiftly. Grissom crawled over to her. "I've got to go."

"I know." She smiled and he moved up to kiss her.

After Grissom departed, Sara decided to go for a walk. In her current condition she stuck with circling the block with Oreo. She was able to go three laps that day and stopped at the mail box to check the mail. Her stride towards the house was slow as she flipped through bills and junk mail.

Oreo bounded to the front porch and began barking. Sara caught up with him. "It's okay it's just a package." She looked over the plain box and realized that there was no return address or and indication that the postal service had delivered it.

She left the small package on the porch and went to retrieve a knife. Carefully Sara cut the tape and pulled the cardboard back exposing two small items. The first thing she picked up was a postcard. Again with no writing, but the picture showed a small cabin sitting on the shore of a massive lake that was surrounded by evergreen trees.

The sight of the card jogged her memory and she began to flash back to living in the cabin with Grant. Sara shook the thought and picked up the small piece of paper and unfolded it. Upon reading the short note her heart skipped a beat and she let the paper fall back into the box.

Sara rushed back inside with her dog, locked the doors, and went to the bedroom and climbed under the covers.

Several hours later Grissom returned and noticed the small open box. He glanced at the postcard briefly before inspecting the note. He read the same words Sara had, but instead of retreating, he scanned the neighborhood for anything suspicious. After determining everything was okay, he glanced at the note again and crumpled it up.

It read, _'He's no good for you.'_Ah Shit

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TDCSI


	20. Chapter 20

Thanks for the reviews. I wish those who read would please review, I enjoy seeing them. It inspires me to write more stories. And to those who guessed…you have chosen, wisely.

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What Goes Around

Grissom locked the front door and double checked the back patio door. "Sara!" He called out as he went to find her. The first stop was the bedroom.

The bed was empty, but the covers were wrinkled from someone being in the bed. Oreo was over by the closet lying on the ground. Grissom approached the spotted dog and eased open the door.

"Sara." He called out softly.

She was cowering in the corner behind some boxed clothes. "He was here." Sara stuttered in fear.

Grissom crawled into kneel on the hard floor in front of her. "I know."

"He's going to kill you." Her tears started once again.

He kissed her hand. "No one's going to kill me." Grissom grabbed both of her hands. "Come on, we need to get out of here."

Grissom helped her from the closet and with Oreo at their side walked out of the bedroom. He flipped open his phone and began sending a text to Brass. Just as he hit the send button he felt Sara release his hand. Turning quickly Grissom saw a blur of a figure before seeing darkness.

Grant was quick to hit Grissom on the side of the head with the heavy book end keeper. Once the older man's body hit the floor unconscious, Grant decided it wasn't enough and began to violently kick Grissom in the torso.

Sara screamed for him to stop, and Grant turned to her. "He's the enemy! He tore us apart! He stole your happiness!"

"I am happy." She desperately wanted to scream it at him, but feared the consequences.

"We were happy Sara. All I wanted was to live with you and raise our baby." Grant took a few steps towards her, and she began a slow retreat.

Sara shook her head. "It's Gil's baby, not yours."

Grant's eyes narrowed. "No, that's my baby." He pointed to her abdomen. Fear filled her to the point she was shaking. As he took another step Grissom's cell phone started to ring. Grant turned to glare at it until it stopped ringing. He continued to stalk Sara. "Remember Sara, you belong to me."

"Please no." Her tears flowed freely down her cheeks.

The phone started ringing again. "Oh for fuck sakes!" Grant stormed over to the ringing phone. It was still in his left hand, and without a care in the world, Grant stomped down on Grissom's hand until the phone broke. "There." He turned back to a crying Sara. "I barely survived that crash. All I thought about was you, and that's what kept me alive. I told you we would be together again."

Sara shook her head. "No."

Grant approached her and grabbed her hand. He led her back into the bedroom and shut the door. Sara continued to cry as he roughly tossed her on the bed. She quickly curled up protecting her baby. The bed dipped as Grant sat down. "So, this is where he assaults you." He took in the décor and shook his head. "I thought he had better taste." There was nothing but sobs coming from behind him as his eyes continued to look over the room.

Brass was sitting in his office when his phone beeped. He checked it and when the message from Grissom simply said, _911_, he tried to call his friend. The phone rang until the voice mail picked up. On the second effort, the phone only rang three times before going dead. No voicemail. Brass suddenly got a sinking feeling in his gut, and his gut was usually right. He rushed from his desk, and on the way to his car, called Catherine.

Their cars were silent as they stopped several houses down. Nick had ridden with Catherine and they discussed with the detective on what to do next. Weapons drawn, they cautiously approached their friend's house.

Nick circled around back and carefully looked inside the sliding patio door. He could see the dog lying on the floor, his tail was still but he was constantly moving. Nick made sure there was no one visible and tried to slide the door open only to find it locked.

Oreo was lying at Grissom's head licking his face. He heard the back door rattle and silently went to investigate.

Nick noticed the dog approach him and tried to appear non threatening as he didn't need the dog barking. Once he was able to see better, Nick caught a glance of Grissom lying on the floor. He checked the area for Sara but couldn't see her. The dog suddenly went back towards Grissom and when the strange man appeared Nick ducked.

He peered in and watched the man give his mentor another sharp kick to the ribs. Nick winced as he watched helplessly. He knew Sara had to be inside, and hoped that she was uninjured.

After a few moments of watching, Nick retreated to meet back with Brass and Catherine. "There's a male suspect. Griss is down, I can't tell if he's alive, and there's no sign of Sara."

"I'd bet my badge that Grant didn't die in that crash like they thought. Who else would come for them?" Brass vented and tried to think. "We have to be careful, this guy is crazy unstable and may kill Sara if we go rushing in there."

Grant grabbed several bottles of water from the kitchen and returned to Sara. He was able to lock the door from the inside. Sara was still on the bed sobbing. "I know it's been a while, and he's corrupted you. We'll just hang out in here until you are ready to leave." He set a bottle of water next to her on the nightstand. "And remember, the longer you wait, the longer he has to wait for medical help."

Grissom suddenly felt his head spin as he began to wake up. He gritted his teeth as he rolled onto his back. Oreo was right there again licking him on the face. Grissom let him for a moment before lifting his left hand so he could see it. Black and blue bruising covered the majority of it along with swelling. He tried to close it only to encounter a rapid flow of pain. Gritting his teeth again, he tried to hold in his screams of pain.

He could hear his pounding heart in his ears and feel it in almost every part of his body. After getting his breathing under control he heard the voice of a man that was supposed to be dead. Grissom mustered every ounce of strength he could and stammered to his feet.

The rush of blood from his head almost brought him crashing to the ground but he managed to stay upright. Grissom looked around and picked up the book keeper. The corner of it was covered in blood and he carefully walked to the living room and looked in the mirror. The left side of his face was also covered in blood. Grissom looked around and tried to figure out how he was going to get to Grant. He needed a diversion. After a few brief ideas, he set the heavy keeper down on the coffee table and went into the nursery.

The crib was still in pieces on the floor. Grissom picked up one of the support pieces and nodded his approval of a weapon. He staggered back into the living room, Oreo following his every step. He knew the dog was going to follow him and alert Grant to his position, so Grissom came up with an idea.

He went into the kitchen and took out the bag of treats. Oreo's eyes locked onto the bag as Grissom sat them on the counter. The dalmatian stood staring at the bag while Grissom returned to the living room. He set the piece of oak down and picked up the book keeper again. His lungs filled with air and he released it as if to say 'go' to himself. Grissom drew back and threw the heavy item through the glass of the patio door.

Grant was having a one sided conversation with Sara when he heard the glass shatter. Sara jumped at the noise and looked at the closed door. Grant turned to her. "The bastard has a lot of fight in him doesn't he?" He stood and approached the door. "Well, he's about to lose that fight, and then we'll be together forever."

Cautiously Grant opened the door and peered out. The first thing he noticed was the absence of Grissom's body. He eased out into the short hall and hugged the wall. While keeping an eye out he noticed the dog standing and staring at something.

"Well well, old man. Not gonna just roll over and die now are we?" Grant moved quickly as if to surprise who the dog was looking at. Oreo was startled and ran. Grant looked around the kitchen and noticed the bag of treats.

He turned quickly as Grissom had done when he attacked him. Grant was unable to defend himself against the solid piece of oak as it hit the side of his head. He stumbled back and picked up his arms to shield his face from the blows.

Grissom never hesitated as he continued to hit Grant. He aimed for his head, torso, and eventually went for the man's legs. Grant collapsed as his legs were battered. He could feel every painful blow as the assault continued. The breaking of his ribs, and other bones pierced his ears and as he tried to move he made the mistake of uncovering his face. Grissom was quick to land several hard hits to Grant's temple. Even though he was sure Grant was unconscious, the rage in Grissom kept driving him. He continued to beat Grant until he was stopped.

The breaking glass brought Brass and Nick running to the house while Catherine called it in. Nick went back to the patio door to find it shattered. He saw Grissom beating Grant with a piece of wood and eased up behind his boss. "Griss…Grissom." Even as he called, Grissom continued to pound the lifeless man. "Griss!" Nick moved to stop the next blow.

Grissom looked up to the younger man. The vision in his left eye was blurry, and his chest was heaving as he tried to focus. He let go of his weapon and it fell to the ground. A dizzy spell overtook him and he started to fall forward.

Nick was quick to catch him and ease him to the ground. Brass entered through the broken door as well and went to open the front. One look at his friend had him calling for a medivac immediately.

Catherine entered gun drawn and looked over the scene. "Where's Sara?"

She and Brass started their search while Nick remained with Grissom. Catherine went to the bed room and eased the door open. She found Sara on the bed crying and quickly went to her.  
"Sara, it's okay."

Sara's sobs filled the air. "He killed Gil didn't he?"

Catherine helped her sit up. "No, Gil's alive. Nick is with him, an ambulance is on the way." Just then the sound of various sirens could be heard approaching.

She helped Sara out to the living room and when they walked past Nick and Grissom Sara's legs gave out as she cried upon the sight of him. "Nooo."

Both Brass and Catherine kept her on her feet. "Sara, you need to remain calm. Gil's fine, he'll be all right. Let's sit you down." They led her to the couch. "Just breathe, think about the baby, and just…" She took a long deep breath trying to get Sara to mimic her. It took a moment but Sara responded.

Paramedics rushed in and one attended to Grissom while the other checked Grant. Brass intervened. "Don't worry about that piece of shit; make sure he's looked after first."

Nick moved as they assess the injuries and stabilized Grissom for transport. Catherine helped Sara outside as they followed the gurney carrying Grissom.

Ecklie walked past as Grissom was being loaded into the ambulance. He noted the condition of his entomologist and Sara's emotional state as he passed. Upon entering the home he saw Brass and Nick standing in the kitchen. "What happened?"

"Bastard wasn't dead like we all thought." Brass referred to Grant and looked up to the irritating man. They locked eyes. "But he's dead now."

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Okay, now you all have confirmation that Grant's dead. Dead, dead, dead. So now that he's dead, we're just going to end the story there, right? It's a possibility, but in case, I have 1 more chapter in reserve. I suppose with enough begging I could post it later.

THE END (possibly)

TDCSI


	21. Chapter 21

Okay, this is the last chapter in this multiple year saga. There will not be another one no matter how much anyone grovels.

I need to give a major huge shout out to my girl Jersey. She's been the moral support through this as I struggled with this story. You rock Jord. So, I hope it's the happy ending you were all looking for. Cause it only took over 2 years to wrap this damn thing up.

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What Goes Around

Sara and Catherine rode in the ambulance with Grissom. He remained unconscious the entire trip. As usual they were stopped when they tried to follow him into the trauma unit. Catherine and a nurse remained with Sara in an attempt to keep her emotions in check. They both feared that she would stress herself into premature labor.

The nurse went to check on the progress of Grissom to put Sara's mind at ease. She returned with the attending physician.

"Hello Sara." He kneeled in front of the distressed woman. "I'm Doctor Greene. I've evaluated Mister Grissom's injuries. His left hand is fractured in multiple places, several of his ribs are cracked and bruised, and he's got a nasty concussion. Overall he'll be just fine."

His tone of voice was soothing, and Sara calmed instantly. "Thank you." The doctor smiled at her before returning to his patient.

Catherine rubbed Sara's back. "See, Gil's going to be fine." They sat in the small quiet room for several minutes before Catherine broke the silence. "Have you two picked out any names?"

Sara shook her head. "We've thrown a few around."

The room fell back into silence until Brass arrived with Nick, Greg, and Warrick. Being in the room full of friends eased Sara's discomfort even further. They flipped through magazines and talked quietly amongst themselves.

About an hour later the nurse entered. "Okay, mister Grissom is being taken to a room right now. All I can tell you is that it's on the fourth floor. Go to the nurses' desk there and they will be able to direct you to his room.

The group stood and headed towards the elevators. The life came to a stop and dinged, indicating they were at the correct floor. Sara was the first one off, followed by Catherine. They quickly found the desk and were informed of the room number.

Sara once again led the way as she slowly opened the door. Grissom's face was bruised and he had several bandages on the left side of his head. His broken hand was set temporarily so he couldn't move it. He didn't have a shirt on to allow room for the wrap they had his torso constricted in. Sara figured it was for his injured ribs. She pulled the cushiony chair up close to his bed.

His right hand was covered in tape holding the IV tubes still, but Sara still found room to gently caress his skin. Catherine sat in the other chair while the guys remained standing.

All of their eyes spoke loud and clear about their feeling towards the situation. While they were going over their friends' body for further injuries, they heard Grissom sigh.

"Hey baby." Sara spoke softly.

Grissom's eyes fluttered and opened slightly. He was still in a daze and turned his head slightly to see Sara. "Sar."

She reached up and stroked his hair. "Shhh, just rest." Grissom closed his eyes and they all watched his heart rate even out indicating he was asleep again.

After watching him for thirty minutes, the guys left. Catherine remained with Sara. She was hoping to encourage her to go home with her to sleep but Sara could read her thoughts.

"I'm not leaving him."

"Didn't figure." She stood. "If they bring in a bed will you at least sleep in it?" Sara looked to the other woman. Catherine smiled and left to speak with the nurses.

While Catherine was gone Sara stood and placed several soft kisses to Grissom's battered face. "I love you. I always will." She whispered to him.

By the time Grissom was released from the hospital and he returned home, the glass had been replaced and everything picked up. He and Sara went through their home looking at anything that seemed out of place. When they entered the nursery, they noticed the crib was completely assembled.

Grissom found a small note attached to the crib and opened it. He read it out loud. "Gil and Sara, thought we would help out since neither of you in your conditions should be doing much work. Take note, next week is your baby shower so when we all show up at noon, don't say I didn't warn you. Catherine."

The next week came and went as did the others. Sara was weeks from her due date as Grissom returned to the hospital for follow up x-rays of his hand. It was no longer hard casted, but in a soft cast so he could move his fingers but not his entire hand.

While they were waiting to visit with the doctor he kept noticing Sara shift in her chair. "Are you okay?"

She'd smile. "Yup." And reposition herself. He looked at her in a peculiar manner when the door opened and Dr. Greene entered.

"Okay Gil, your hand looks like it's healing very well. You'll have several of the pins removed in a few weeks, but some are going to be left in." He opened a folder. "How's the head?"

"Owwww!" Sara doubled over and both men were at her side.

"Honey what's wrong?" Grissom grabbed her hand with his good one and looked at her swollen belly.

Dr. Greene picked up her wrist and began taking her pulse. He then felt her stomach around the baby. "Sara, you're going into labor."

Grissom looked up wide eyed as Sara suddenly fought off another contraction. The doctor went to get help while Grissom stayed with her. "Just breathe." He exhaled and inhaled slowly. "Breathe."

"I am breathing!" Sara huffed out.

Grissom was shocked at her outburst but then blew it off due to her current condition. She gritted her teeth as yet another contraction hit her.

Dr. Greene returned with several nurses and a wheelchair for Sara. They helped move her and the nurses followed by Grissom rushed her up to the maternity ward. They had her changed into a gown, in a bed, and hooked up to multiple monitors in record time as the contractions continued to intensify.

Grissom was standing next to her bed holding her hand when Dr. Warren entered. "Well I see you didn't want to stick to your due date." She sat on a stool between Sara's propped up legs and lifted the sheet covering her. She exchanged words with several of the nurses. "Okay, Sara are you ready?"

She shook her head. "It hurts." Sweat covered her brow and poured down her face.

"I know, but it's too late for an epidural. On your next contraction, I want you to push."

Sara squeezed Grissom's hand and he kissed it. "I'm right here for you."

She sucked in a deep breath, held it and pushed. Between the huffing and puffing, and screaming, Sara managed to deliver their baby in a few minutes.

"It's a girl." Dr. Warren held up the baby girl and placed her on the small blanket placed over Sara's torso.

Grissom had tears in his eyes at the sight of his infant. The cries echoed in the room while the nurses cleaned her off. Sara was crying and was anxious to cradle her baby girl.

They hovered around their baby protectively until she had to leave with the nurses. Grissom followed his daughter, hovering over her like a hawk. The nurses took all of her measurements, printed her tiny hands and feeet, and bundled her back up. Grissom then returned with her to Sara.

By now Sara was resting comfortably in the bed when he entered. She smiled brightly at the sight of her baby cradled in his arms.

He passed her to Sara before sitting on the edge of the bed. "A boy huh?"

Sara laughed. "I'm glad she's a girl. But don't worry Daddy, we'll leave things the way they are."

Grissom couldn't agree more as he was content to sit and watch Sara care for their newborn. Their lives were going to become a whole new kind of complicated.

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Ta-Da!!!!

Okay it's all over. Let's all say it together…awwwww.

That's enough. Okay, so now this one is over, I want to thank those who have reviewed, and encourage everyone to go read some of my other fics. I have a WIP now, and a few being written and may get posted soon.

TDCSI


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